Department for Transport

Bus Services: Staffordshire

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing government support to subsidise bus services in Staffordshire.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: £250m of Bus Services Operators Grant (BSOG) payments have been made to bus companies and local authorities. Bus operators in Staffordshire were paid a total of £1,016,186 BSOG in 2018-19 to help meet some of their fuel costs in running local bus services. Staffordshire County Council received a total of £174,967 in BSOG during 2018-19 to support subsidised local bus services. BSOG spend figures are published on Gov.uk and can be found via this link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-services-grants-and-funding#bsog-spend The Government will consider whether to make any changes to BSOG as part of the forthcoming spending review.

Railways: Overcrowding

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to allocate additional funding to the railways to reduce the level of overcrowding on train services.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of overcrowding on train services.

Andrew Jones: More than 4,000 extra weekly services have been added to the network nationally in the last two years, with over 2,000 further services due to be added in the next few years. In addition, as part of a significant investment by Government and train operators to transform the railways, over 7,800 new railway carriages have been ordered since 2010; out of these, 4,500 new carriages will be introduced by the end of 2022, benefitting passengers across the country. The Government has also agreed a Network Rail settlement for England and Wales of £47.9bn for Control Period 6, aimed at maintaining and renewing the railway to enable existing and future services to run reliably.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many roads managed by Highways England as part of the Strategic Road Network have illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when Highways England plans to publish a plan to meet legal levels of nitrogen dioxide on the strategic road network.

Michael Ellis: Highways England’s Air Quality Strategy published in August 2017, sets out the company’s actions to improve air quality on the strategic road network. This supports the Government’s Air Quality Plan for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in UK (2017), which established the Government’s commitment to improve air quality on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Highways England’s Delivery Plan 2018-2019, published in July 2018, provides an update on progress and this year’s Delivery Plan with a further update will be published this summer. Highways England have agreed with the Department for Transport a programme of work to assess and deliver improvements in air quality on the SRN, with a focus on 101 SRN road links which have been identified by Government’s Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) model as exceeding NO2 limit values. Highways England are analysing these road links through their programme of work to identify what measures can be implemented to deliver compliance as quickly as possible. The total number of roads affected will be lower, as some roads have more than one link in exceedance along the whole route.We anticipate that the programme of improvement activity will be published later this year, once the appropriate links have been assessed and mitigation measures identified.

Railway Stations

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) new railway stations have been opened and (b) railway stations have been completely refurbished by region since 2010.

Andrew Jones: In total 42 new railway stations have been opened since 2010. Over 1300 individual stations have seen a level of enhancement due to contributions from Government funded programmes such as Access for All and the National Stations Improvement Programme since 2010. This is in addition to major projects at stations such as Birmingham New Street, Reading and London Bridge. Through their franchise agreements with the Department, train operating companies are also contracted to deliver improvements at stations, for example through the Minor Works Budget or Station Improvement Fund. The Department ensures these are geographically spread across all regions.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Swansea

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional staff have been employed at DVLA Swansea since 2014; what comparative assessment he has made of the average processing time for applications for Northern Ireland customers in the six months preceding the transfer of services to Swansea and the six months after the transfer of such services; what the average processing time was in the most recent period for which figures are available; and whether performance targets have been achieved at DVLA Swansea since 2014.

Michael Ellis: On 31 March 2014, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employed 4,951 full time equivalent staff compared to 5332 on 31 March 2019. The increase is largely attributable to the DVLA bringing its IT services in-house in 2015. The DVLA has also increased the number of staff working in its Drivers Medical section to cater for increases in medical notifications. Specific information on average processing times for customers in Northern Ireland is not readily available. The information could only be retrieved at disproportionate cost as it would require the interrogation of all vehicle-related transactions to identify those specific to Northern Ireland customers. All DVLA performance measures and achievement against those targets can be found in its annual report and accounts for each financial year along with relevant explanations. These can be viewed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dvla-annual-reports-and-accounts

Electric Scooters

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to review the adequacy of legislation on the use of battery-assisted micro-scooters on public highways.

Michael Ellis: We recognise that people want to take advantage of the opportunities electric scooters can offer. We are committed to encouraging innovation in transport as well as improving road safety, but new modes of transport must be safe and secure by design. Whilst e-scooters can be used on private property (with the landowner’s permission), in general it is currently illegal to ride them on the road. This includes on cycle lanes, or tracks, or on the pavement. The Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19 March 2019 includes a Regulatory Review to address the challenges of ensuring our transport infrastructure and regulation are fit for the future. One strand of this will look at options for enabling micromobility devices, and a consultation will be issued in due course.The Strategy can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-mobility-urban-strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Post Offices: Rural Areas

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support rural post office branches.

Kelly Tolhurst: While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. Thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010 the overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his timescale is for the publication of the Green Finance Strategy.

Chris Skidmore: Green Finance is a key priority for the Government - to support delivery of our ambitious Clean Growth Strategy, to drive economic growth as part of our Industrial Strategy, and to ensure the UK remains a key driving force in enabling the global transition to a low carbon economy.  We have already taken action to respond to the recommendations of the Green Finance Taskforce. This includes announcing the establishment of the Green Finance Institute. We will be publishing our Green Finance Strategy in due course.

Post Office

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2919 to Question 246964 on Post Office, which Ministers met with Tim Parker in the last 12 months.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Ministers that met with Tim Parker in the last 12 months were myself and the previous Parliamentary Under Secretary of State my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths).

Post Office: Corporate Hospitality

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 246968 on Post Office: Corporate Hospitality, which Senior officials accepted hospitality from the Post Office; and what the dates were of the two board dinners hosted by the Post Office.

Kelly Tolhurst: The hospitality referred to in the answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 246968 consists of five pre-Board dinners and an Awards dinner which the Shareholder Representative Non-Executive Director (Tom Cooper – UK Government Investments) attended as a member of the Post Office Board on 23 May 2018, 30 July 2018, 08 November 2018, 26 November 2018, 28 January 2019 and 25 March 2019 In addition, a member of the Post Office Shareholder Team at UK Government Investments attended the Board’s two-day strategy meeting in lieu of Tom Cooper on 26-27 June 2018, which included an overnight stay provided by Post Office Ltd.

Post Office

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2019 to Question 246965 on Post Office: Civil Proceedings, which Ministers met with Directors and Officials of the Post Office on each of those four occasions; and who were the Directors and Officials were representing the Post Office at those occasions.

Kelly Tolhurst: The former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths) and I have met with Post Office Chair Tim Parker, former CEO Paula Vennells and Al Cameron, both in his previous capacity as CFOO and in his current capacity as Interim CEO, to discuss a range of issues. They were supported in these meetings by Post Office executive directors covering relevant areas, including Legal, Public Affairs and Financial Services.

National Federation of SubPostmasters: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of whether the Public Grant Funding Agreement between the Post Office and the NFSP Ltd represents value for money for the public purse.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Therefore, no assessment has been made regarding this issue as it is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Federation of SubPostmasters: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits that the use of public grant funding between Post Office and NFSP Ltd brings to sub-postmasters.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Postmasters and the benefits that they are entitled to is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Federation of SubPostmasters: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Public Grant Funding offered by the Post Office to NFSP Ltd was also offered to other organisations to bid for.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Matters concerning Public Grant is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Federation of SubPostmasters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many postmasters (a) are company members of NFSP Ltd and (b) have been registered as voting members with Companies House, as required by the Articles of Association of NFSP Ltd and the Grant Funding Agreement between Post Office and NFSP Ltd.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Matters concerning postmasters and their members of organisational bodies is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Federation of SubPostmasters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether there is currently a policy of auto-enrolment to NFSP Ltd for postmasters.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Postmasters and their relationship with Post Office Limited is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Office: National Federation of SubPostmasters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many times the CEO of Post Office met with the CEO of NFSP Ltd in the last 12 months.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The relationship between the Post Office Limited and NFSP is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Federation of SubPostmasters: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the grant funding agreement between Post Office and NFSP Ltd was sanctioned by (a) the Board of Directors of Post Office and (b) his Department.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The Grant Funding Agreement between Post Office Limited and NFSP is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Federation of SubPostmasters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the ability of NFSP Ltd to act as an Independent representative body for sub-postmasters.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Postmasters’ relationship with NFSP is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Iron and Steel

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK steel and steel products procured by his Department in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Andrew Stephenson: For the first time this year the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published information from Government departments and their arm’s-length bodies on the value and origin of the steel procured over the financial year 2017/18, where this information was available. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy did not directly procure any steel, from the UK or overseas, in this period for major projects. We will continue to work closely with departments and their arm’s-length bodies to improve awareness of the steel procurement guidance and the quality of the information that they are able to provide us on the steel procured for their major projects. In publishing this data and the annual Steel Pipeline, we are supporting the industry to maximise its potential for growth, enabling steel businesses to plan for future demand, and ultimately increase the amount of UK steel used in both public and private UK projects. The Steel Pipeline shows how the government plans to use over 3 million tonnes of steel – worth around £500 million – over the next decade, on infrastructure projects such as the construction of Hinkley Point C and the maintenance and upgrading of the UK’s motorway network.

Short Time Working: Climate Change

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the merits of working shorter hours to tackle climate change.

Kelly Tolhurst: The UK is a world leader in cutting emissions while creating wealth. Between 1990 and 2017, the UK reduced its emissions by over 40 per cent while growing the economy by more than two thirds. The Clean Growth Strategy sets out our plans to build on our progress in decarbonising the power sector, while looking further across the whole of the economy and the country. It includes ambitious proposals on housing, business, transport, the natural environment and green finance. We have not made any assessment of the impact of working shorter hours on climate change. The Government does, though, continue to support flexible working practices, as part of our commitment to ensuring that everyone can access fair and decent work as set out in the Good Work Plan. For example, all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer have the right to request Flexible Working. We have also committed to consult on a new duty on employers to consider when a job can be done flexibly, and make that clear when advertising.

Post Offices: Closures

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Post Office Ltd on the closure of Crown Post Offices; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: BEIS Ministers and officials engage regularly with representatives of Post Office Limited on a range of strategic issues of mutual interest. While the Post Office is publicly owned, it is a commercial business operating in competitive markets. The Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office – to maintain a national network accessible to all and to do so more sustainably for the taxpayer – and allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Therefore, issues relating to the Post Office network, including Crown Post Offices and franchising agreements with WHSmith, are all operational matters for Post Office Limited.Most of the UK’s Post Office network of over 11,500 branches (almost 98%) already operates successfully on a franchise or agency basis. Research by Citizens Advice (June 2017) found that franchised branches are delivering to the same, or better, standards.

Post Office: Finance

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding from the public purse has been provided to Post Office Ltd in each of the last five years.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Post Office: Finance

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what funding from the public purse will be provided to Post Office Ltd in the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electricity (Connection Offer Expenses) Regulations 2018

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of updating the Electricity (Connection Offer Expenses) Regulations 2018, Regulation 2(4) to prevent repeated expenses charges being applied to applicants by distributors for distribution quotations without renewed written warning that those charges may be incurred.

Chris Skidmore: Distribution network operators (DNOs) must notify connection applicants that they may be required to pay connection offer expenses under the Electricity (Connection Offer Expenses) Regulations 2018, Regulation 2(4) before those expenses are incurred. Unless they have done so, DNOs may not require the applicant to pay. There are established complaint procedures should applicants feel they that a DNO is not acting in accordance with the Regulations. Details are available on all DNO websites.

Delivery Services: Scotland

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of excess delivery charges on people in the far north of Scotland; and what steps he is taking to reduce those charges.

Kelly Tolhurst: As a Government we have ensured that everyone, including retailers, has access to an affordable postal service for deliveries across the UK via the Universal Service. The Consumer Protection Partnership is engaging with industry to understand their pricing models and how to reduce costs for consumers in Scotland and Northern Ireland but ultimately these are commercial decisions for each business. Wayfair’s decision to scrap delivery charges on purchases over £40 anywhere in the UK is the type of commercial decision that will drive competition and lead to lower costs. Through the CPP’s engagement, industry is showing signs of shifting with marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay currently looking at how they can improve the transparency of their delivery options. Menzies Distribution also took a commercial decision to launch a new delivery service (HighlandParcels.com) last year enabling residents in the Highlands and Islands to register and receive their parcels for a fixed fee of £4.99 per delivery.

Delivery Services: Fees and Charges

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure business accountability to online guarantees of delivery costs.

Kelly Tolhurst: We have been clear to retailers the need to comply with legislation by ensuring information about delivery conditions or restrictions is clear and up front at the point of purchase so consumers can make an informed choice and if appropriate choose to shop elsewhere. We have issued revised guidance for business and both the Competition and Markets Authority and the Advertising Standards Authority have undertaken compliance reviews and taken action as a result. The “delivery.law” website launched by Highland Trading Standards last year enables consumers to register a complaint for referral onto the relevant authority to consider enforcement action where there has been a breach of consumer law. The portal also provides guidance to business and consumers. Government has ensured that everyone, including retailers, has access to an affordable postal service for deliveries across the UK via the Universal Service.

Horizon 2020

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that research and innovation activities carried out under Horizon 2020 comply with ethical principles and legislation.

Chris Skidmore: As an EU Member State, the UK was involved in negotiating the EU Regulations governing Horizon 2020, and in the preparation by the European Commission of its model grant agreement for Horizon 2020 beneficiaries. These require research and innovation activities carried out under Horizon 2020 to comply with ethical principles. Under the conditions of the grant, UK institutions, organisations or individuals that receive Horizon 2020 funding must adhere to ethical principles and applicable international, EU and national law. Responsibility for ensuring beneficiaries comply with the grant agreement rests with the European Commission or its agencies.

Consumers: Protection

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish his Department's consumer white paper; and whether the white paper will include proposals on the mortgage market.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government’s Consumer White Paper is due to be published later this year. It will report back on the issues raised in the Consumer Green Paper.

Solar Power: VAT

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on planned future VAT increases on solar panel installations.

Chris Skidmore: Solar PV is a UK success story, with rapid deployment over the last 8 years, over 99% of the UK’s solar PV capacity has been deployed since May 2010. We are already exceeding our 2020 projections today, with over 13GW of solar capacity installed in the UK, enough to power over 3 million homes. I regularly discuss a range of issues with my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer. HM Treasury’s proposed changes reflect the strong result we negotiated on behalf of industry; solar installations should be largely unaffected where material costs make up less than 60% of total installation costs.

Solar Power

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that solar energy is (a) accessible and (b) affordable to all households.

Chris Skidmore: Solar is a UK success story, having until now received 81% of the £5.9bn Feed in Tariff scheme, which has enabled 6.5 GW of new renewable generation across the country. In the future, our proposals for a Smart Export Guarantee will ensure that all small-scale generators are paid for the power they export to the grid. This coupled with the fact that residential solar panels are now over 50% cheaper than in 2011, makes solar more accessible and affordable than ever.

Minimum Wage

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his Department's policy to restore immediately the policy of naming of employers for National Minimum Wage breaches whilst the review of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme is ongoing.

Kelly Tolhurst: As announced in the Government response of December 2018, the review of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW) Naming Scheme commenced in response to recommendations made by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement in his 2018/2019 Labour Market Enforcement Strategy. Naming of employers for NMW breaches will recommence once that review has been completed. We are reviewing the effectiveness of the naming scheme to ensure that our enforcement approach balances the need to crack down on the most egregious non-compliant employers with the need to help employers understand their responsibilities and how to comply. Naming remains an important part of our enforcement toolkit. Enforcement of the national minimum wage and the national living wage is a priority for this Government to ensure that workers receive at least the Minimum Wage. We have more than doubled the budget for minimum wage compliance and enforcement since 2015, to a record high of £27.4 million. This resulted in over 220,000 UK workers receiving a record £24.4 million in arrears last year.

Whirlpool Corporation: Tumble Dryers

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,  how many members of the public contacted the Office for Product Safety and Standards as a result of its review of Whirlpool’s handling of its tumble dryer safety issue announced in November 2015.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how correspondence sent to the Office for Product Safety and Standards by members of the public as a result of its review of Whirlpool’s handling of its tumble dryer safety issue announced in November 2015 was taken into account as part of that inquiry’s final report.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has received just over 7,000 emails from members of the public in relation to its review of Whirlpool’s actions, arising from a Which? correspondence campaign and a further five not initiated by the Which? campaign.In the current phase of its ongoing investigation, OPSS is following up with individual consumers who have provided relevant information to ensure that any evidence they hold can be recorded and analysed as incident data. This includes where information has referred to us by third parties, including from the consumer group Which?.

Energy: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Prospering from the energy revolution: An overview of government’s challenge to industry and research to create more efficient energy systems and benefit the UK economy from the global uptake published by UK Research and Innovation, what percentage of (a) bids received to date were made by organisations based in the North East and (b) funds allocated to date have been to organisations based in the North East.

Chris Skidmore: Through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), the Government is investing in strategic innovation challenges that will create transformative opportunities for businesses and sectors across the UK. So far £1.7bn has been allocated to ISCF challenges over two waves of investment. This includes £102.5m for the Prospering from the Energy Revolution Challenge, which will develop world-leading local smart energy systems that deliver cheap and clean energy across power, heating and transport, while creating high value jobs for the future. To date 5.9% of bids to the Prospering from the Energy Revolution Challenge have been from organisations registered in the North East and 6.0% of allocated funding has been to organisations registered in the North East. The recently launched Offshore Wind Sector Deal will also benefit the UK economy including that of the North East.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Procurement

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what procurement policies his Department has put in place to ensure that (a) the Foreign Office and (b) UK embassies promote UK (i) ceramics and (b) manufacturing, specifically.

Sir Alan Duncan: All procurement is guided by the Public Contracts Regulations and Cabinet Office guidance.​

Diplomatic Service

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has an access to justice unit within its consular directorate.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The access to justice unit was established in January 2015 to lead on consular support provided to families bereaved through murder or manslaughter. This followed an internal review of the support offered to these families conducted in 2014, and recommendations made by the Foreign Affairs Committee in their 2014 Report on Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Services. The name of the unit was changed to the Murder and Manslaughter Team shortly after it was established to better reflect the unit’s purpose as a dedicated team supporting those bereaved through murder or manslaughter overseas. This includes working closely with our posts overseas on these often complex and long-running cases.

Botswana: Hunting

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Botswana on that country's decision to lift the elephant hunting ban.

Harriett Baldwin: ​The Government takes the conservation of endangered species seriously. The UK and Botswana have a regular dialogue on conservation and counter-poaching activity. Ministers have not discussed with Botswanan counterparts the 22 May announcement to lift the 2014 suspension on hunting.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a response to EDM 2425 entitled UN Condemnation of UK occupation of the Chagos Islands.

Sir Alan Duncan: As set out in Written Ministerial Statement - HCWS1528 of 30 April and in the statement by the UK Permanent Representative at UNGA on 23 May, we were disappointed that this matter was referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and UN General Assembly. An Advisory Opinion of the ICJ is advice provided to the United Nations General Assembly at its request; it is not a legally binding judgment. The Government has considered the content of the Opinion carefully, but we do not share the Court's approach. The basic principle that the ICJ should not consider bilateral sovereignty disputes without the consent of both states concerned has been circumvented and this could have wide-reaching implications for all UN member states.With regard to Chagossians we are continuing our work to design a support package worth approximately £40m, to improve Chagossian livelihoods in the communities in Mauritius, the Seychelles and the UK where they now live.

International Assistance: Security

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many applications for Overseas Security and Justice Assistance have required Ministerial approval from his Department in each financial year since 2015-16.

Mark Field: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated its guidance on Overseas Security and Justice Assistance in 2017 by written ministerial statement. Since then, information on its implementation has been included in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual Human Rights and Democracy Report. Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessments completed for specific projects or interventions are working documents, and are regularly updated in line with developments in the country concerned. Information on the number of Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessments completed in previous years and a more detailed breakdown of applications requiring Ministerial approval is not held centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.The guidance applies to any security and justice assistance from Her Majasty's Government that could result in changes to the laws, policies, practices or capabilities of foreign justice or security institutions and/or result in individuals being identified, investigated, arrested, detained, interviewed, interrogated, prosecuted, tried or sentenced by foreign authorities.

International Assistance: Security

Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cross-departmental electronic database system for collating Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessments, as part of its roll out of the Fusion Doctrine.

Mark Field: Responsibility for complying with the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) Guidance rests with the department or agency with oversight of the assistance being delivered. Where more than one department or agency is involved, in most cases the implementing body will lead on the project-specific assessment, and the funding or coordinating body will lead on securing the necessary approval. All organisations regularly involved in security and justice assistance have a designated OSJA Lead who is responsible for ensuring consistency in the application of the OSJA Guidance in their department.Government departments use the OSJA Guidance as a central part of their risk management procedures. OSJA assessments completed for specific projects or interventions are working documents, and are regularly updated in line with developments in the country concerned.We do not assess that there is a need for a central database to support these risk management arrangements.

Yasir Arman

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he will make to his Sudanese counterpart to ensure the safety of Yassir Arman of SPLM-N and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson of the Declaration for Freedom and Change.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is engaging with the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and with the a range of opposition groups and the protest movement in Sudan. We are calling for the legitimate demands of Sudanese people to be respected and for power to be handed over to civilian leadership. Violence must not be used. This message has been firmly delivered in Sudan by our Ambassador to the Deputy Head of the TMC. The UK, alongside Troika partners Norway and the US, has called for all sides to engage in an inclusive dialogue, that leads to a swift, orderly and peaceful transition to civilian rule. On 29 May our Ambassador delivered this message to Yassir Arman of SPLM-N and encouraged all armed movements to return to Sudan and take part in the talks to agree a civilian-led transition and achieve peace. We will continue to engage with all sides to support a settlement that works for all Sudanese people.

Kenya: Refugees

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Kenyan counterpart on the recent decision of a court in that country to repatriate 22 women refugees to Eritrea.

Harriett Baldwin: ​Neither the Foreign Secretary nor I have discussed with the Kenyan government reports that a Kenyan court has ruled to repatriate 22 women refugees to Eritrea. Our High Commission in Nairobi will work to establish the full facts in the coming days.

Conflict Resolution

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the level of (a) direct (b) indirect support provided by his Department to UK peace building and conflict resolution services globally in each of the last three years.

Mark Field: ​The UK Government plays a leading role in financing and supporting peacebuilding and conflict resolution through a broad range of bilateral and multilateral channels. For example, in the last three financial years the UK has contributed £19,055,708 (FY2016/17), £22,547,737 (FY2017/18), and £20,708,625 (FY2018/19) towards the UN's Special Political Missions. In addition to our contributions through the UN, the Government has supported a range of bilateral conflict prevention, stabilisation and peacebuilding initiatives, many funded through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund - total expenditure £242.4m in FY2017/18. The cross-Government Stabilisation Unit and our offices and network of missions overseas also play an important role in delivering UK government support to peacebuilding and conflict resolution activities.

Sri Lanka: Minority Groups

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Sri Lankan counterpart on the importance of protecting the rights of (a) Muslims and (b) other minorities.

Mark Field: The UK Government continues to raise concerns regarding incidents of violence and intimidation against Muslims and minority groups. We have actively engaged with the Sri Lankan authorities, faith and community leaders to ensure the protection of minorities and to encourage an inclusive response to the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks that brings different communities and faith groups together to tackle violent extremism and protect minority groups. The Minister of State for Security, Ben Wallace, visited Sri Lanka on 2-3 May and met President Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and faith leaders where he underlined this message. Lord Ahmad and I have also raised the issue of protection for minority groups directly with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner.The High Commission in Colombo recently joined an European Union statement calling on political, religious and other community leaders to speak out against violence and all those inciting unrest and distrust and to make every effort to promote understanding and harmony between communities.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts on human rights violations in Kashmir since the publication of the UN Human Rights Council's report on the situation in Kashmir in June 2018.

Mark Field: We encourage both India and Pakistan to uphold their international human rights obligations. Any allegations of human rights violations or abuses is concerning and must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently. We regularly raise the issue of human rights and Kashmir with the Governments of India and Pakistan. I discussed the situation in Kashmir with the Indian Foreign Secretary on my most recent visit to India in March this year. The Permanent Under Secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office also raised the situation in Kashmir with the Indian Foreign Secretary during bilateral talks last month (May). With the Pakistani Government, the Foreign Secretary discussed Kashmir with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in March and I raised the issue in a meeting with Pakistan's Special Assistant for Accountability in late May.

Libya: Asylum

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 23 May to Question 256340, how many refugees were resettled; and whether those resettled places were additional to existing resettlement quotas.

Sir Alan Duncan: Further to my written answer of 23 May, we are making good progress on the resettlement of the 92 refugees referred for resettlement to the UK by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – many of whom have now arrived in the UK. These resettlement places are within existing global resettlement quotas.

USA: State Visits

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total cost to the public purse is of the state (a) banquet and (b) visit of 3 to 5 June 2019 by the President of the United States.

Sir Alan Duncan: Costs for the State Visit of the President of the United States will be released in due course on the gov.uk website in the usual way.

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 14 May 2019, Official Report column 75, how many of those 226 arms export request refusals were for sales to Saudi Arabia.

Sir Alan Duncan: In 2018 the Government refused no licences to Saudi Arabia.

Attorney General

Rape: Mental Health Services

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Attorney General, if the Government will review the CPS guidance given to victims of rape on seeking therapy.

Lucy Frazer: It is vital that victims are confident they will be treated with the utmost fairness by the justice system. CPS committed, as part of the cross-Government Victims Strategy, to launch new guidance on pre-trial therapy to reduce the perception amongst victims, therapists and criminal justice professionals that it will damage the prosecution case. This is due to be published this summer. Additionally, a new toolkit for prosecutors on the support that an individual suffering from a mental health condition will require was launched in August 2018.

Department of Health and Social Care

Sickle Cell Diseases: Health Services

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of potential levels of inequality in (a) the life expectancy and (b) NHS service provision for patients with sickle cell disease compared to other NHS patients.

Seema Kennedy: Evidence suggests that life expectancy for people with sickle cell disease is improving. This is due to a number of factors including:- Improved newborn screening coverage to enable earlier diagnosis;- Use of the National Haemoglobinopathy Registry to monitor individuals’ health, treatment and their annual reviews;- Access to specific diagnostics and medication, such as hydroxyurea; and- A Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) incentive has been in place for the last two years to improve access to apheresis for individuals with sickle cell disease.All these factors are reflected in the service specification quality indicators which providers are required to report against so that implementation can be monitored.It is anticipated that NHS England’s new model for specialised haemoglobinopathy services will be in place by early 2020. The new model is designed to improve access to specialist advice and care for patients, irrespective of where they live. The equality impact assessment on the new service model indicates that it will advance the promotion of equality and support the further reduction of health inequalities. This will be through ensuring that patients with thalassemia and sickle cell conditions have equitable access to high quality specialist care and support within specialised commissioned centres irrespective of where in the country they live. These centres will promote best practice in service delivery.

NHS: ICT

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding (a) is currently available and (b) will be made available for pilot projects trialling new digital innovations in the NHS; and what (i) the criteria and (ii) the process is for applying for that funding.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There are a number of schemes accessible to those seeking to trial digital innovations in the National Health Service. One example is the Digital Health Technology Catalyst competition which is a £35 million fund run over four years as part of the industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. This scheme aims to address challenges identified in the Accelerated Access Review and to help grow the digital health sector. In addition the Small Business Research Initiative connects public sector connects challenges with innovative ideas from industry, supporting companies to generate economic growth and enabling improvement in achieving Government objectives.

Mental Illness: Parents

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to record the number of children of parents with mental health problems.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There are no plans to record this information.

Measles: Vaccination

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on making the measles vaccination compulsory before children start school.

Seema Kennedy: There have been no discussions between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, on making the measles vaccination compulsory before children start school.

Learning Disability: Health Services

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to avoid detaining students with autism and learning disabilities in Assessment and Treatment Units.

Caroline Dinenage: Care, Education and Treatment Reviews (CETRs) have been established as the process for preventing admission or for making an effective plan for discharge for children and young people. In 2018/19 (up to the end of February 2019), 80% of pre-admission CETRs led to a decision not to admit the young person.The NHS Long Term Plan commits to keyworker support by 2024 for every child or young person with a learning disability or autism with the most complex needs who are inpatients or at risk of being admitted to hospital.The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health commits to improve care and extend access to mental health services for 70,000 more children and young people by 2020/21. As outlined in the Long Term Plan, by 2023/24 an extra 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 will receive National Health Service-funded mental health support.

Medical Equipment: Standards

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the quality of medical devices being delivered to the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to the safe and effective regulation of medical devices in the United Kingdom; we continue to strengthen safety while ensuring patients and the public have fast access to new, innovative devices.All medical devices placed on the UK market must comply with the European Union Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC (MDD). The CE mark for a device is placed on a product by a manufacturer to attest to its compliance with the safety, quality and performance requirements of the MDD, before it can be placed on the market, which includes supply to the National Health Service.Once a device is placed on the market, the manufacturer is required to continually monitor the performance of their device, submit vigilance reports to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) when incidents occur involving their device and take appropriate safety action when required. Additionally, the MHRA monitors adverse incident reported though the Yellow Card reporting system. Adverse incident reports can be submitted to the MHRA by members of the public, healthcare professionals and the device manufacturer.Furthermore, the new EU Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745 (MDR), which entered into force in May 2017, have introduced more stringent requirements from manufacturers to ensure a high level of patient safety. These include increased scrutiny by notified bodies, particularly for higher risk devices, new standards for clinical evidence and more rigorous vigilance reporting requirements.

Health Services: Technology

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the NHS of the change in the number of Health Tech product suppliers on continuation of supply; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The supplier base for different products is constantly changing and therefore the Department and NHS Supply Chain continuously monitor developments in the medical technology sector to identify any material implications for the marketplace and continuity of supply.

NHS: Procurement

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the savings to the public purse of the Nationally Contracted Products initiative run through Supply Chain Coordination Limited; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Supply Chain reports that the savings up until April 2019 are a cumulative total of £4.7 million up for the Nationally Contracted Products initiative. This is part of a wider programme of delivering £2.4 billion of savings back into the National Health Service by 2022/23.

NHS: Procurement

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the average number of suppliers that are supplying each product purchased through the Nationally Contracted Products initiative in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows the number of suppliers on each of the live Nationally Contracted Products (NCP) projects run by the new NHS Supply Chain.Live NCP ProjectsNumber of SuppliersBlunt Fill Needles3Facemasks1Fixation Pants2Surgical Theatre Gowns1Nitrile Examination Gloves3Oxygen and Suction Tubing2Pre-Filled Syringes1Specimen Swabs2Specimen Containers4Ultrasound Gels2Copier Paper1Couch Rolls1Electrodes3Average2

Mumps

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many instances of mumps there were in the first quarter of (a) 2019, (b) 2018, (c) 2017 and (d) 2016.

Seema Kennedy: Mumps is a notifiable disease and healthcare professionals are legally required to report all suspected cases to their local Health Protection Team. The number of confirmed cases of mumps in quarter 1 of each year from 2016 is shown in the following table.Number of laboratory confirmed mumps cases in England for Quarter 1 (Q1) in 2016 - 19YearNumber of cases in Q12019795201827520172802016145Sources:2016: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526457/hpr1816_mmr.pdf2017: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616215/hpr1917_mmr.pdf2018: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/711941/1918_AA_mmr.pdf2019: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/804024/hpr1819_mmr2.pdf

Antibiotics: Rivers

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the concentration of antibiotics in UK rivers.

Seema Kennedy: The United Kingdom’s national action plan for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), published on 24 January 2019, takes a fully integrated and comprehensive One-Health approach for tackling AMR, and includes challenging five-year commitments across human and animal health, agriculture, the environment and food.Without more research into AMR in the environment we cannot design effective interventions to minimise risk and protect public health, food production and natural ecosystems. The national action plan therefore includes commitments to deepen our understanding about AMR in the environment, including a specific commitment to explore the establishment of a river catchment-based research programme with clear standards for sample collection, analysis and review, with the aim of delivering AMR monitoring data that can be used to evaluate existing management interventions and inform new policy initiatives.The Environment Agency is working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and water companies to undertake an extensive programme of investigations to assess a wide range of chemicals entering rivers through wastewater treatment works. As part of this programme, levels of four antibiotics have been monitored in treated sewage effluent in order to quantify levels. The choice of antibiotics was based on the levels of prescription and environmental toxicity studies. Outputs will inform the development of future policy and regulatory decisions.The Department is establishing a UK AMR national action plan delivery board which will drive and oversee delivery of this work.

Radiation: Health Hazards

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of increased microwave and radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation on public health.

Seema Kennedy: Public Health England (PHE) has published a webpage about exposure to the radio waves from mobile phone base stations, including those for 5G networks, at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobile-phone-base-stations-radio-waves-and-health/mobile-phone-base-stations-radio-waves-and-healthThis explains the health-related reviews and assessments have been performed, as well as the practical measures that are in place to protect public health.Based on the accumulated evidence and reviews, PHE advises that the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) should be adopted and there is no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause adverse health effects.While a small increase in overall exposure to radio waves is possible when 5G is added to the existing network, the overall exposure is expected to remain low and well within the ICNIRP guidelines.PHE continues to monitor the health-related evidence applicable to radio waves, including in relation to base stations, and is committed to updating its advice as required.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people whose elderly care is funded via a local authority can top up their care home fees from (a) personal and (b) family resources.

Caroline Dinenage: The Care Act 2014 gives provision in certain circumstances for individuals and third parties to pay for some or all of the additional cost of a preferred care home which is more expensive than the fees specified in the individuals’ personal budget.

Department of Health and Social Care: ICT

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the countries currently hosting cloud-based data as contracted by his Department.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department's procurement system does not have a separate category for cloud-hosting contracts nor any central means of consistently identifying the countries in which data is held.However, where the Department has entered hosting arrangements, let by the Department’s Technology Service, we have verified that Departmental data is held in the following countries: - United Kingdom;- Republic of Ireland;- Netherlands; and- United States of America.

Dementia: Health Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been awarded for dementia care in each of the last five years; and how much of that funding has been allocated to community pharmacists.

Caroline Dinenage: This information requested is not held centrally.NHS England allocates funding to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and specialised commissioning which commission services on behalf of their local populations. It is for CCGs and specialised commissioning to decide how best to use the funding allocated to them in line with local healthcare needs and priorities, working with other local commissioners and organisations.At April 2017, the total sum payable to community pharmacy under the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework included £75 million reallocated to a Quality Payments Scheme. Between April 2017 and June 2019, £11.8 million of this funding was paid to community pharmacy contractors recognising their successful achievement of an indicator requiring their patient-facing staff to become dementia friends.

Pneumoconiosis

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new diagnoses of pneumoconiosis there have been among ex-miners in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Seema Kennedy: This data is not held centrally.

Social Services: Finance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Green Paper on social care funding.

Caroline Dinenage: As people live longer than ever before, sometimes with complex care needs, we need to ensure the social care system is sustainable in the longer term. The Green Paper remains a priority for the Government. We are continuing to work on it closely, taking the time to consult with key stakeholders and take their feedback into consideration. As such, it will be published at the earliest opportunity.

5G: Health Hazards

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the merits of the decision by the Belgian authorities to halt the roll out of 5G because of health concerns.

Seema Kennedy: The United Kingdom supports European Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC on limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which include radio waves. The Recommendation incorporates exposure restrictions from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), as advised by Public Health England (PHE).An overview of the radio wave exposure restrictions applied in a range of countries has been provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the following link:http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.EMFLIMITSPUBLICRADIOFREQUENCY?lang=enThis shows that the majority of countries are following the ICNIRP guidelines (41 volts per meter at 900 MHz and 58 volts per meter at 1,800 MHz).PHE is a collaborating body in WHO’s International EMF Project, which brings together organisations from around the world to share information on this topic. PHE is committed to keeping its advice under review and to updating its advice should new evidence dictate that is necessary.

Gender Recognition: Clinics

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average length of waiting time for patients wishing to access appointments at gender identity clinics in each region of England; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking the reduce the waiting times for patients wishing to access services at a gender identity clinic.

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the current maximum waiting time from initial referral for a first appointment at a gender identity clinic to accessing NHS-funded treatment in each region of England.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Latest information from NHS England for March 2019 states that national average waiting times for adults, for a first appointment at a gender dysphoria clinic, range from 60 to 157 weeks, with a median of 76 weeks.The highest average waiting time reported by a gender dysphoria clinic within each region are shown in the following tables (approximate figures):RegionAverage waiting timeNorth East and Yorkshire80 weeksMidlands155 weeksLondon60 weeksSouth West98 weeks There are currently no gender dysphoria clinics in the North West, East or South East regions.In recent years, demand for gender services has increased significantly, reflecting an international trend. In response NHS England has increased funding in gender services by around 50%, but this has had limited impact in reducing waiting times given constraints in the professional workforce nationally. As a way of increasing clinical capacity to meet demand, NHS England has announced its intention to establish a number of pilot services across England from 2019/20 that will evaluate the extent to which adult gender dysphoria services can be delivered by trained clinical teams in local primary care or community health settings. If evaluated positively, NHS England will consider how to extend the new models to other parts of the country.

Gender Recognition: Clinics

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to open more NHS gender identity clinics in England.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England nationally commissions Gender Identity Services. In April 2019, NHS England began a process of national procurement to determine which organisations are best able to deliver adult gender dysphoria services in the future. The process of procurement is open to organisations that currently host a gender dysphoria clinic as well as new market entrants. The outcome of the process is expected to be known by the autumn of 2019.Separately, NHS England has announced its intention to establish a number of pilot services across England from 2019/20 that will evaluate the extent to which gender dysphoria services can be delivered by trained clinical teams in local primary care or community health settings. If evaluated positively, NHS England will consider how to extend the new models to other parts of the country.

Gender Recognition: Clinics

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to change the guidelines that state that trans patients who seek private healthcare as a result of long waiting times in order to receive treatment and medication will remain eligible for NHS-funded treatments.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has no plans to review this guidance.

Mental Health Services: Hearing Impairment

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health support for people who (a) are deaf and (b) have a hearing impairment; and if he will make a statement.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) guidance and (b) training is available to clinicians on assessing and referring deaf patients to specialist mental health support.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to ensuring that all people who have a mental health need, including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, are able to access appropriate support when they need it regardless of other physical health conditions. Commissioners are responsible for commissioning appropriate cultural and linguistic provisions when planning services for deaf people.Deaf patients are able to access mental health services based on a clinical assessment of need with the support and involvement of clinicians (including consultant psychiatrists and mental health nurses) with the skills and experience of working with deaf people with mental illness and who are able to communicate using British Sign Language (BSL) where needed.NHS England commissions specialised mental health services for children, young people and adults who are deaf or have a hearing impairment. These include inpatient and outreach services for children and young people and services for adults who require inpatient care, including care in secure mental health services.The Specialised Mental Health Clinical Reference Group provides advice and support to NHS England about improving commissioning, including through service specifications and quality schemes. NHS England has developed a specific Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) scheme in 2019-20 for specialised deaf services aimed at introducing a standardised approach to the assessment and understanding of a patient’s individual communication skills, which will improve the effectiveness of interactions with staff, care planning and delivery.The Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health has published guidance for commissioners of primary care mental health services for deaf people. This is for use by clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and service providers across primary and secondary care. The content is evidence based and incudes what is deemed to be best practice when commissioning mental health services for deaf people. The guide is available at the following link:www.improvement.nhs.uk/resources/improving-mental-health-services-for-deaf-people/The guidance recommends the training of psychological wellbeing practitioners through an accredited standard Improving Access to Psychological Therapies low intensity training course adapted for delivery in BSL. It also sets out the benefit of providing the current specialist BSL workforce with access to continuing professional development training so that they are able to further develop their skills and expertise through programmes such as high intensity therapy, counselling for depression, supervision qualifications and other appropriate interventions.

Counselling: Sign Language

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the availability of deaf-focused NHS counselling using British sign language as the first language in England; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The National Health Service Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme is available to all adults. If an individual is deaf and requires British Sign Language (BSL) to be used, services can either use a BSL interpreter or refer them to Sign Health, an IAPT service which delivers therapy using BSL trained therapists. Sign Health is available nationally but is funded via individual funding requests, so clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for funding decisions. In 2018/19 Sign Health received £1 million from 116 CCGs for the treatment of around 250 people. Other alternatives that may be suitable for deaf people include therapy delivered via a digital route, for example text messaging.The NHS England IAPT manual, published in June 2018, specifies that commissioners, managers, primary and secondary care clinicians should develop local IAPT care pathways in consultation with patient groups and community leaders, including under-represented groups. The IAPT manual recommends that commissioners and providers consider commissioning services that have bilingual clinicians who speak the language of local minority groups, including clinicians who are fluent in BSL for deaf people.Local commissioners have to pay due regard to the equality legislation when commissioning IAPT services. They are able to decide whether they meet their responsibilities through services who provide BSL trained therapists or through interpreters in their locality.

Cancer: Health Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Government spent on cancer (a) research and (b) treatment in 2017-18.

Seema Kennedy: For cancer research, the National Institute for Health Research spent £136 million in 2017/18, an increase from £101 million in 2010/11. This constitutes the largest investment in a disease area.For cancer treatment, NHS England can only provide information on those services that it commissions through its specialised commissioning function. Other services would be commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups and therefore not collected centrally. In 2017-18, NHS England estimates that £3.9 billion was spent by NHS England Specialised Commissioning. The attached table shows a breakdown of figures.



Specialised Commissioning Spend 2013-18
(Word Document, 12.9 KB)

Radiotherapy: Expenditure

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Government spent on radiotherapy treatment in each of the last five years.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the NHS cancer budget was spent on radiotherapy treatment in each of the last five years.

Seema Kennedy: We are not able to provide this information. NHS England can only provide information on those services that it commissions through its specialised commissioning function. Other services would be commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and therefore not collected centrally.The attached table shows a breakdown of figures for the years 2013-14 to 2017-18, as estimated for NHS England Specialised Commissioning by NHS England.



Specialised Commissioning Spend 2013-18
(Word Document, 13.05 KB)

Cancer: Health Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of the NHS cancer budget was spent on (a) surgery, (b) drugs, (c) chemotherapy and (d) radiotherapy in each of the last five years.

Seema Kennedy: We are not able to provide this information. NHS England can only provide information on those services that it commissions through its specialised commissioning function. Other services would be commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups and therefore not collected centrally.The attached table shows a breakdown of figures for 2013-14 to 2017-18, as estimated for NHS England Specialised Commissioning by NHS England.



Specialised Commissioning Spend 2013-18 
(Word Document, 12.91 KB)

Department of Health and Social Care: Video Recordings

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to the public purse was of making and publishing the video published at 9.40pm on 31 May 2019 with his Department's logo and with his comment Office cricket this morning to celebrate the World Cup.

Caroline Dinenage: One communications officer did this as part of their core role. They spent 105 minutes filming and editing this video which encouraged viewers to get active during the period of the Cricket World Cup. The cost of the time spent making the video is equivalent to £32.70.

Mental Health Services: Recruitment

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Interim People Plan, what baseline his Department will use in assessing progress against the target of recruiting 25,000 more staff to work in mental health services.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Interim People Plan, what baseline his Department will use for assessing progress against the target of recruiting nearly 6,500 more staff to work in children and young people’s mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Interim NHS People Plan acknowledges that the estimated number and mix of new posts needed will need to be refined to reflect the changes in the way in which services are delivered, for example, through sustainability and transformation plans and integrated care services which are currently being developed.NHS England aims to publish a full five-year Plan alongside a detailed implementation plan for the NHS Long Term Plan. This will follow the outcome of the next Spending Review.

Mental Health Services: Recruitment

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Interim People Plan, what his Department's timeframe is for achieving the target of 25,000 more staff working in mental health services.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Interim People Plan, what his Department's timeframe is for achieving the target of nearly 6,500 more staff working in children and young people’s mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Interim NHS People Plan, published on 3 June 2019, sets out that an additional 25,000 staff will be employed in mental health services over the next five years. This includes nearly 6,500 more working in children and young people’s mental health services and mental health support teams in schools and colleges. NHS England will publish a Full People Plan later in the year alongside a detailed implementation plan for the NHS Long Term Plan. This will follow the outcome of the next Spending Review.

Contraceptives

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to promote the uptake of long-acting reversible contraception methods.

Seema Kennedy: A wide range of contraceptive choices, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), are available free of charge in a range of primary and community venues and local authorities are mandated to provide reasonable access to all methods of contraception. The proportion of women attending sexual and reproductive health services who use LARC methods has been steadily rising over the last ten years. The Department will work with Public Health England to consider what more we can do to ensure that all women have access to the full range of contraception.

Genito-urinary Medicine: Expenditure

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that spending on sexual health services reflects local levels of need.

Seema Kennedy: The Government has mandated local authorities to commission comprehensive open access sexual health services, including free sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and notification of sexual partners of infected persons.The precise level of spending on sexual health services is a matter for individual local authorities, reflecting local need.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the rising incidence of (a) syphilis and (b) gonorrhoea.

Seema Kennedy: In June 2019, Public Health England (PHE) published a Syphilis Action Plan, to improve detection, surveillance and clinical management at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/syphilis-public-health-england-action-planTo reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including gonorrhoea and syphilis, PHE launched the ‘Protect Against STIs’ health promotion campaign in 2017/18 to promote condom use and positive sexual relationships among 16 to 24-year olds. This campaign can be viewed at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/protect-against-stis-use-a-condom/homeAdditionally, HIV Prevention England has been contracted to deliver a HIV prevention programme aimed at men who have sex with men, black Africans and other groups in whom there is a higher or emerging burden of infection. This programme promotes, among other behaviours, condom use and awareness of STIs including gonorrhoea and syphilis. More information on this programme can be found at the following link:http://www.hivpreventionengland.org.uk/

Drugs: Prices

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s decision to not support the World Health Assembly's resolution on greater transparency for drug pricing on the affordability of medicines in the UK.

Seema Kennedy: The United Kingdom participates in various transparency initiatives, including the European Integrated Price Information Database, the World Health Organization’s Pharmaceutical Pricing Reimbursement Information Network, and the Global Fund Price and Quality Database. However, the UK has a long-established and globally-recognised track record of assessing the price of new, innovative medicines according to their clinical value, rather than pricing by their development costs or international reference prices. We believe that is the right approach: ensuring the development of the best medicines in areas of high unmet need are rewarded. The Government could not, therefore, agree to a resolution which had the potential to increase medicines prices and reduce patient access, by reducing the ability of the NHS to undertake commercial negotiations with pharmaceutical companies on the price of new medicines. The approach taken by the National Health Service has meant we were the first country in Europe to offer innovative CAR-T therapies, alongside many other new medicines.

Department for International Development

Sierra Leone: Debts

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing aid to Sierra Leone to offset the interest payments on that country’s debt.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is working with the Government of Sierra Leone to create a more prosperous and inclusive country. This includes support to increase revenue generation and improve public financial management to address their debt position.Sierra Leone is not currently in debt distress, although it is at high risk. There is an existing process through multilateral fora which countries can follow if they wish to pursue debt relief.In the last 6 months, the UK has actively supported decisions taken by the IMF and the World Bank to provide additional financial support packages for Sierra Leone. Our contributions to the EU and African Development Bank are also supporting the Government of Sierra Leone to finance their development needs.

Department for Education

Apprentices: Free School Meals

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of apprenticeship starters were eligible for free school meals in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England in each quarter of each academic year since 2014.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of apprenticeship starters who were eligible for free school meals started (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher apprenticeships in (i) Ashfield constituency, (ii) Nottinghamshire and (iii) England, in the first quarter of the academic year (A) 2018-19 (B) 2017-18, (C) 2016-17, (D) 2015-16 and (E) 2014-15.

Anne Milton: Information on the proportion of apprenticeship starters who were eligible for free school meals is not held in the format requested. We publish data on apprenticeship starts with various breakdowns by level, local authority and parliamentary constituency in the apprenticeships geography and sector subject area tool of the apprenticeships data library. This can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships.

Higher Education: Free School Meals

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of people entering higher education by age 19 in (a) 2018-19 and (b) each of the last five academic years were eligible for free school meals in (i) Ashfield constituency, (ii) Nottinghamshire and (iii) England.

Chris Skidmore: The Department publishes information at a national level on the proportion of students who entered higher education by age 19 who were eligible for free school meals at age of 15 in state-funded and special schools. The latest figures for England can be found in Table 1 here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/757901/WP2018-MainTables.xlsx. The information is not held centrally, regarding figures at local authority or parliamentary constituency level.

Apprentices: Taxation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many businesses in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England pay the apprenticeship levy; and how many of these businesses have apprentices working with them.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of businesses in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, and (c) England do not pay the apprenticeship levy; and how many of those businesses have apprentices.

Anne Milton: Disaggregated information on the apprenticeship levy that is collected in each constituency, local authority or region of the UK by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is not available. Many larger levy-paying employers are headquartered in one region but they employ staff across the country. Therefore, levy data is reported to HMRC by PAYE scheme rather than by organisation, which means that we cannot attribute the levy collected and spent to individual locations. Individual employers can control where apprenticeship funds are spent in order to meet their current and future skills needs. Since May 2015, there have been 4,690 apprenticeship starts in the Ashfield constituency, 39,650 starts in Nottinghamshire (including in the city of Nottingham) and over 1.7 million starts in England as a whole, reported to date. 49.4% of apprenticeship starts in England were supported by the levy in the first half of 2018/19, which is the most recent period for which data are available. Income from the levy in England is used to fund apprenticeships for all employers, including apprenticeships started before the introduction of the levy as well as apprenticeships started since the introduction of the levy. We recently announced our intention to move non levy-paying employers onto the apprenticeship service, beginning later this year, giving small to medium-sized businesses a greater choice of quality training providers and the opportunity to be more engaged in apprenticeship training decisions for their business.

Primary Education: Children's Play

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what sources of funding from the public purse are available for new outdoor play equipment for (a) Foulds Primary School in High Barnet and (b) other primary schools in England.

Nick Gibb: The Government has allocated over £7.4 billion in condition funding since 2015 to maintain and improve school buildings and grounds. This funding supports the Department’s priority of ensuring the school estate is safe and supports a high-quality education.This can include works related to outdoor play areas.The Department provides condition funding through different routes, depending on the type of school. Local authorities and large academy trusts receive an annual formulaic allocation through School Condition Allocations (SCA) and are best placed to prioritise investment based on local needs. For the financial year 2019-20, Barnet has been allocated £2,254,070 in SCA for schools for which they are responsible, including Foulds Primary School. Smaller trusts and sixth form colleges are instead eligible for condition funding through the Condition Improvement Fund.All schools also receive funding to spend on their own capital priorities through an annual Devolved Formula Capital allocation. In the financial year 2018-19, Foulds Primary School received £20,568, including its allocation from the additional £400 million in capital funding announced at Budget 2018. For 2019-20, the school has been allocated £7,555.In 2018-19, £100 million of revenue generated from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy was made available for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund. Barnet received £215,686 to invest in its maintained schools. This one-year fund was intended to improve children’s and young people’s physical and mental health by enhancing access to facilities for physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and medical conditions. The Healthy Pupils Capital Fund could be used to fund outdoor play equipment.

Independent Reviewing Officers

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to strengthen the Independent Reviewing Officer service for children in care.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with representatives from the National Association of Independent Reviewing Officers on strengthening the Independent Reviewing Officer service.

Nadhim Zahawi: In Fostering Better Outcomes, published in July 2018, we committed to working with organisations representing Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) and local authorities to consider how the role of IROs can be put to best effect in the current system and under existing legislation. My officials have been in regular conversations with both the National Association of Independent Reviewing Officers and the National Independent Reviewing Officers Manager’s Partnership to discuss how the role of IROs can be strengthened. Both organisations have worked with their members to develop proposals. We will continue to offer support and challenge to both these organisations as they move forward in introducing practice improvements.

Pre-school Education: Closures

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2019 to Question 226665, whether his Department plans to start collecting information on the effect of the closure of maintained nursery schools on other local services.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2019 to Question 226664, Pre-school Education: Closures, what assessment he has made of the relationship between reductions in core funding for local authorities and closures of maintained nursery schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are responsible for assessing supply and demand for childcare and ensuring that there are sufficient places available for working parents locally. Whether a maintained nursery school (MNS) closes or not is a matter for local authorities, but they should have regard to statutory guidance when deciding to close one, which includes consultation with all those who have an interest. The department is in regular contact with local authorities and the MNS sector. I announced on 28 February that the government would extend the supplementary funding paid to local authorities, by approximately £24 million. This enables them to fully fund MNSs for the whole of the 2019/20 academic year. What happens after September 2020 will be determined by the next Spending Review, informed by research we have published on the services, costs and quality of MNSs: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maintained-nursery-schools-contribution-to-early-years-provision.

Pre-school Education: Teachers

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Save the Children report entitled It all starts here and pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2019 to Question 214547, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of people enrolling to train towards the award of Early Years Teacher Status.

Nadhim Zahawi: We do not require graduates in private, voluntary and independent early years settings. The early years initial teacher training (ITT) programme is demand-led. Training providers request the number of places they wish to deliver and these are fully funded. Data for the early years ITT programmes is published as part of the ITT Census at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/759716/ITT_Census_2018_to_2019_main_text.pdf.

Apprentices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) women and (b) men in each local authority area in England started an apprenticeship in each sector subject area in 2017-18.

Anne Milton: The attached table shows apprenticeship starts in each English local authority broken down by gender and sector subject area for the 2017/18 academic year (August 2017 to July 2018).For additional information on apprenticeships starts by geography or learner characteristics, please see the further education data library:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships.



259326_Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 154.5 KB)

Schools: Mental Health Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the current minimum requirements is for provision of mental health services in schools.

Nick Gibb: It is up to schools to decide what support to put in place based on the individual circumstances of their pupils. The statutory Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice sets out the approach that schools should take when a member of staff identifies emerging concerns such as mental health issues. This approach informs the decision as to whether a child needs special education provision, and so applies to children regardless of whether they have a need or disability. The Code is clear that support should not require a specific diagnosis, and should be provided from an early stage, including the involvement of external professionals where appropriate.To ensure schools have access to specialist mental health support, the Department is working closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to provide new mental health support teams. These will provide a range of support and interventions for groups of schools and colleges. The aim is for the new teams to be established in 20-25% of England by 2023. This will start with 25 trailblazer areas which will be fully operational by the end of this year.The Department is also incentivising schools to identify and train a senior mental health lead, who will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of a whole school approach to promoting better mental health and wellbeing.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Disclosure of Information

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of subject access requests made to the Subject Access Team of the Ministry of Justice have been responded to within the correct timescale since the General Data Protection Regulation came into force; and what steps she is taking to reduce the volume of those requests.

Robert Buckland: I can confirm that the proportion of subject access requests made to the Ministry of Justice since June 2018 that were responded to within time is 75%. This figure includes requests received up to and including March 2019, representing the latest available performance results. The Ministry of Justice takes its data protection responsibilities seriously. We have seen a significant increase in the numbers of subject access requests received since the General Data Protection Regulation came into force. We have developed plans to address this increase and taken steps to achieve the desired level of performance. We have: Reviewed and improved working practices and streamlined staff trainingIncreased staffing levelsInvested in technology and we are conducting a trial to release more information to offenders in prison. The volume of subject access requests received by the department is beyond its control. Since the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation and the accompanying Data Protection Act 2018 on the 25 May 2018, the number of SARs have increased by 160% from offenders and 55% from MoJ staff and members of the public.

National Probation Service: Staff

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels in the London division of the National Probation Service.

Robert Buckland: We are currently recruiting more staff into the National Probation Service (NPS). Changes to the recruitment process and eligibility criteria for probation officers have been made resulting in increases in both the volume and diversity of probation officer applicants. A national campaign to recruit probation officers took place recently and successful candidates will start in July 2019, however, it is of note that these campaigns have been consistent.NPS London have prioritised the recruitment of Probation Officers to fill all current and projected vacancies. As of March 2019, approximately 1,325 full time equivalent staff are employed; a net increase of 57 from March 2018. We are recruiting across London, with 211 new staff joining over the past year. NPS London are closely monitoring the caseload capacity for staff and take proportionate and appropriate action to manage workloads across the division.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the average cost of a personal independent payment appeal at the first-tier tribunal in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Paul Maynard: The information requested is not held centrally. The cost of Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance hearings is included in the overall cost of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Appeal).

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which of the 18 recommendations contained in the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse Interim Report his Department has implemented.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which of the 18 recommendations in the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse Interim Report his Department plans to implement.

Edward Argar: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published its Interim Report on 25 April 2018, and made eighteen recommendations for Government, of which five are directed to the Ministry of Justice, and one to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, an Executive Agency of the department. Her Majesty’s Government published its response to the IICSA’s recommendations on 19 December, indicating that it will be taking forward the vast majority of the interim report’s recommendations. It can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-inquiry-into-child-sexual-abuse-interim-report

Offences Against Children: Mental Health Services

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department has allocated to the provision of therapy services for victims of child sexual abuse under the age of 13 in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The Government is committed to ensuring victims of sexual abuse feel that they can come forward to report abuse, and that they can get the support they need, whether they are a child or an adult. That is why we provide grant funding for victim support services across the country, which victims can access throughout their lifetime. The nature of this funding has evolved over time to reflect changes in demand and the changing nature of crime; hence we are unable to provide a consistent breakdown of funding since 2010. Since 2016/17, the Ministry of Justice have provided around £7m per year of ring-fenced funding specifically for provision of support to victims of recent and non-recent child sexual abuse (CSA). In 2018/19, this included £4.7m provided to the Police and Crime Commissioners to locally commission or deliver such services, £1.74m allocated directly to rape support centres and £0.58m allocated to a fund maintained by the Home Office for national and regional organisations supporting victims of recent and non-recent CSA. This funding is not age-restricted; hence we are unable to provide information around how much has been allocated to support individuals under 13. Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse are also supported by the NHS England-funded Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), which are open to all victims of sexual violence regardless of age and provide a range of services including crisis worker support and psychological therapy sessions to address any of victims’ immediate needs. This funding has increased significantly from £23m in 2016/17 to £35m in 2019/20, and supports work to improve the therapy offer for both children and adults.

Prisoners: GCSE

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of prisoners with fewer than five GCSEs at grade A* to C in the latest period for which figures are available.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of prisoners with literacy levels below that defined by the 2011 Skills for Life survey as (a) Entry Level 3 and (b) Level 1.

Robert Buckland: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Department for Education publishes data on English & Maths assessments undertaken when someone is received into prison. This can be found via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-education-and-trainingTables for English and maths assessments: participation 2017 to 2018, can be accessed by the following link;https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765593/201718_OLASS_English_maths_assessments_participation_demographic_tool.xlsx

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Greater London

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of whether the National Probation Service has adequate resources to undertake work  effectively in the London Division.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of whether the National Probation Service has adequate resources to protect (a) children, (b) victims of crime and (c) potential victims of crime in the London Division.

Robert Buckland: As I said in my previous response to PQ 257583, the National Probation Service (NPS) is currently recruiting more staff into the organisation. We have seen an increase in both the volume and diversity of probation officer applicants following a change in the recruitment process and eligibility criteria. A national campaign to recruit probation officers took place recently and successful candidates will start in July 2019. NPS London have prioritised the recruitment of Probation Officers to fill all current and projected vacancies and have had 211 new staff joining over the past year. As of March 2019, approximately 1,325 full time equivalent staff are employed; a net increase of 57 from March 2018. They have also introduced new victim-specific training for staff. NPS London are closely monitoring the caseload capacity for staff and would take proportionate and appropriate action to manage workloads across the division.

Prisons: Childbirth

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what statistics his Department holds on the number of (a) perinatal women in custody and (b) babies born on prison estates.

Edward Argar: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Information relating to births and pregnancy is recorded locally. Work is currently underway to look at what information related to pregnancy and birth can be collected centrally.

Leeds Prison: Crimes of Violence

Mr Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many serious assaults on prisoners there have been at HMP Leeds in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Buckland: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Leeds Prison: Self-harm

Mr Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of self-harm there have been at HMP Leeds in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Buckland: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Leeds Prison: Drugs

Mr Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of random tests returned positive results for psychoactive substances at HMP Leeds was in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Buckland: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Leeds Prison: Drugs

Mr Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents there have been where drugs were found at HMP Leeds in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Buckland: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Moorland Prison: Crimes of Violence

Mr Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on staff there have been at HMP Moorland in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Buckland: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Justice: Secondment

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice,  pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2019 to Question 256353, Ministry of Justice: Brexit, how many officials in his Department have been seconded to work in the Department for Exiting the European Union in each of the last 18 months.

Edward Argar: The number of staff seconded to the Department for Exiting the European in the last 18 months is 1.

Family Courts: Domestic Abuse

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the proportion of cases where domestic abuse was alleged or proven in initial safeguarding where (a) a Cafcass Early Intervention Team phone call did not take place before a First Hearing and Dispute Resolution Appointment, (b) children were not interviewed and (c) a risk assessment was not completed in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the proportion of cases where domestic abuse was alleged or proven in family court proceedings where (a) a Finding of Fact hearing was not part of proceeding, (b) contact was not recommended but was ordered, (c) Cafcass vetoed a court order on safeguarding grounds, (d) no contact was ordered, (e) domestic abuse was found and some form of contact was ordered in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on cases where  domestic abuse was alleged or proven in return hearings in the family court on the proportion of cases (a) returning on safeguarding grounds and (b) judges used their powers to prevent a party bringing the case back to court to prevent abuse in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Paul Maynard: Cafcass undertakes safeguarding checks in every case where an application is made to the court for a child arrangements order and reports relevant information to the court in a safeguarding letter prior to the first hearing. As part of that process, Cafcass will attempt to contact each party separately by telephone to elicit any concerns about any risks of harm, either to the child or to an adult party. Cafcass conducts checks of police records and makes enquiries of the local authority and will include in its safeguarding letter any relevant convictions or cautions or prior local authority involvement. Cafcass undertakes direct work with the child when directed to do so by the court, in cases that continue after the first hearing. This includes interviewing children in order to ascertain their wishes and feelings to produce a section 7 welfare report into the child’s welfare needs. Any information disclosed by the child about domestic or other abuse will be reported to the court. In 2018-19 Cafcass produced 19,236 s7 welfare reports. Cafcass does not record data on the contents of individual safeguarding letters. However, a file analysis of 216 private law cases undertaken in 2017 found that domestic abuse was alleged in 62% of cases. Practice Direction 12J sets out the factors the court must consider when domestic abuse is raised within the proceedings, including whether a fact-finding hearing should be held. Data is not collected centrally on the number of fact finding hearings and could only be obtained through an analysis of case files at disproportionate cost. Whether or not domestic abuse is alleged or admitted by either party, Cafcass has a statutory duty to report to the court at any stage in the proceedings any concerns it has about the risk of harm to the child. Data is not available on specific recommendations made by Cafcass to the court about child arrangements in individual cases nor on the detailed content of any child arrangements order subsequently made by the court. Such information could only be obtained from a case file analysis at disproportionate cost. Data is not collected on the use by the court of its power under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 to prevent a named person from applying from a specified kind of order without its permission. Such provision may form part of a child arrangements or other order under made under the 1989 Act. The Government is determined to improve the family justice response to vulnerable people, including victims of domestic abuse. We are committed to giving the family courts the power to stop unrepresented perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in family proceedings, and we have included measures to prevent this in the draft Domestic Abuse Bill. On 21 May we also announced the establishment of a panel of experts to consider how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences.

Prisoners' Release: Children

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children were released from custody into homelessness in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, as there would be a need to check individual records of all young people released from custody since 2010.

Probation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department conducted or commissioned before the decision to introduce 11 new probation regions.

Robert Buckland: Proposals for a consolidation of probation regions in England and Wales were included in the public consultation Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence. Feedback on these proposals formed part of the Department’s considerations in addition to further consultation with Police and Crime Commissioners, Local Authorities and other key stakeholders to ensure the proposed regional structure effectively facilitates joint working between probation providers and key partners at a regional and local level .

Prisoners: Self-harm

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the frequency of self-harm incidents among (a) the general prison population and (b) IPP sentenced prisoners.

Robert Buckland: The Government publishes quarterly statistics on self-harm in prison, and a more detailed annual breakdown, and both are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-december-2018 Information about self-harm incidents up to December 2018 for the general prison population, and broken down by type of custody, including those serving IPP sentences, can be found in table 2.6 of the document entitled Self-harm in prison custody 2004-2018. The Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in prisons, including redoubling our efforts to address the record levels of self-harm. We have recruited over 4,700 more prison officers since October 2016, and we now have the greatest number in post since early 2012. This is allowing us to implement the key worker role, allowing staff dedicated time to provide support to individual prisoners. We are improving support for prisoners in their early days in custody and working to improve the multi-disciplinary ACCT case management process for those at risk of suicide or self-harm.We have rolled out a revised and improved Introduction to Suicide and Self-harm Prevention course. This is being completed by all new staff and is being delivered as refresher training to all existing staff. 25,000 staff have already begun this training and over 14,000 have completed all six modules.

Prisoners: Health Services

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many IPP sentenced prisoners have been refused access to a therapeutic community in each year since 2010.

Robert Buckland: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. No prisoners are refused access to a Therapeutic Community based on their sentence type, with each individual case having been assessed on the basis of their readiness and suitability to engage in therapy. Referral and assessment processes for Therapeutic Communities include a structured clinical assessment to determine a prisoner’s suitability to participate in a therapeutic programme. This assessment considers levels of risk and complexity, readiness, motivation to engage, security status and appropriate medical information such as current mental state.

Legal Aid Scheme

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will exempt back payments of employment support allowance from the capital means test for legal aid eligibility.

Paul Maynard: As part of its review of the legal aid eligibility regime, the Government will study the income and capital thresholds for legal aid entitlement, including the range of exemptions and disregards which apply to both the civil and criminal legal aid means assessments. The review of the legal aid eligibility regime will bring together data, evidence and expertise from both within and outside of government, liaising with experts from across the field to explore improvements to the system

Legal Aid Scheme

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timescale is for the Government review of the thresholds for legal aid entitlement.

Paul Maynard: The comprehensive review of the legal aid eligibility regime is expected to conclude by Summer 2020 after which we will publish a full consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area. We will seek to implement any final recommendations as soon as practicable following public consultation.

Legal Aid Scheme: Autism

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if the Government will include people with autism as part of its review of the thresholds for legal aid entitlement.

Paul Maynard: The review of the legal aid eligibility regime will study the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice, particularly with respect to those who are vulnerable. As part of the review, we will evaluate a wide range of evidence from both within and outside of government, liaising with experts from across the field to explore improvements to the system.

Family Courts: Autism

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve support for people with autism in the family courts.

Paul Maynard: Part 3A of the Family Procedure Rules (FPR) clearly sets out the court’s duty to consider the vulnerability of a party or witness in relation to their participation in court proceedings, including when giving evidence. The court must consider whether a party’s participation in the proceedings is likely to be diminished by reason of vulnerability and, if so, whether it is necessary to make one or more participation directions to assist that party. The court must consider a number of factors, including whether a party or witness suffers from mental disorder or otherwise has a significant impairment of intelligence or social functioning. Practice Direction 3AA provides further guidance to the court. Specific training on autism is also available to members of the judiciary through the Judicial College, which provides training and support to members of the judiciary in England and Wales.

Probate: Standards

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to speed up the issuance of (a) grant of probate and (b) letters of administration; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.

Family Courts: Domestic Abuse

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release of 21 May 2019, Spotlight on child protection in family courts: A panel of experts will review how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences, whether that panel of experts plan to include a review of the status of parental alienation as child abuse in that review.

Paul Maynard: The expert panel announced on 21 May has a specific remit, first, to gather evidence on how the family courts are responding to alleged or admitted domestic abuse, including the operation of Practice Direction 12J, and the operation of this Practice Direction with the risk of harm exception to the presumption of parental involvement. Second, the panel will consider the adequacy of protections in relation to a range of other serious offences. Third, the panel will consider the handling of repeat applications in the family courts, which may be used to re-victimise or control children and victim parents, including the operation of section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989. The Government is committed to ensuring that the family justice system can robustly address instances of parental alienation. Where Cafcass practitioners prepare a report into the child’s welfare, they are aware of the potential for children to be influenced or alienated by parental views. The Child Impact Assessment Framework launched last year provides further support for Cafcass practitioners in relation to alienating behaviour by a parent.

Department for International Trade

Export Credit Guarantees: Libya

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the UK’s international commitments to the Paris Agreement, if he will confirm that UK Export Finance will not be used to support a deal to explore for oil and gas in Libya.

Graham Stuart: UK Export Finance suspended cover for all new export transactions in Libya in 2015. The country currently remains off cover in line with the stance of other major export credit agencies.

Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to M/V Bahri Yanbu which moored at Tilbury docks around 7 May 2019 carrying cargo destined for Saudi Arabia, whether the Government determined whether that vessel was carrying licensable goods that required (a) a Standard Individual Transhipment Licence and (b) an Open General Transhipment Licence; and whether the Government issued Standard Individual Transhipment Licences for that shipment.

Graham Stuart: Article 17 of the Export Control Order 2008 sets out the scope of controls applying to goods in transit or being transhipped. As Saudi Arabia is neither an embargoed destination nor a destination subject to stricter transit controls under the Order, a transhipment licence would not be required for military goods provided certain conditions are met. These conditions are principally that the goods were legally exported from the country of export (in this case, Belgium) and that they remain in the UK for a period of less than 30 days. We have no reason to believe these conditions were not met and therefore no transhipment licence was required.

Defence and Security Organisation

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the level of (a) direct and (b) indirect subsidy provided by the Defence and Security Organisation to the arms industry in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The Department for International Trade Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO) does not subsidise the defence industry.

Overseas Trade

Damien Moore: What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the maintenance of the rules-based system for international trade.

Dr Liam Fox: The UK is a strong supporter of the rules-based multilateral trading system. I recently advocated for this at the Global Trade Review 2019 Conference and at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting where I held meetings with the Director General of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevedo and my Japanese counterpart Trade Minister, Mr Hiroshige Seko.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Religious Hatred: Islam

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to address Islamophobia in the UK.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We remain deeply concerned at hatred directed against British Muslims and others because of their faith or heritage. This is utterly unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our country.This Government has done more than any other to tackle Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred. In early March 2019, the Communities Secretary and Home Secretary chaired a high-level roundtable discussion on Islamophobia to hear directly from communities about their concerns. In addition, the Cross-Government Working Group to Tackle Anti-Muslim Hatred plays a critical role as the Government’s main forum for discussing issues of concern around Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.Alongside, we have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with over £2.5 million between 2016 and 2020 to monitor and combat anti-Muslim hatred. We have committed £1.6 million for the Places of Worship Security Grant this year, and a further £5 million over three years to support security training for places of worship.To agree a formal definition of Islamophobia the government will be appointing two advisers, building on the important work already undertaken by the Anti Muslim Hatred Working Group.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 249217 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, how much of that £259 million has been allocated to (a) housing associations and (b) other registered providers; and whether he holds information on the amount allocated to registered providers by the local authority where their blocks are located.

Kit Malthouse: Of the £259 million that has been allocated, £123 million has been allocated to housing associations and £136.4 million has been allocated to local authorities.The table below shows total approved costs by building location. Due to public safety considerations, five local authority areas have not been specifically named as this could lead to the disclosure of individual buildings.Local authority areaApproved FundingBarking and Dagenham£0.6mBarnet£6mBrent£21.7mCalderdale£1.7mCambridge£0.1mCamden£80.6mCroydon£1mHackney£2.1mHammersmith and Fulham£0.4mHaringey£10mHavering£0.8mHillingdon£0.4mIslington£5.6mLambeth£20.2mManchester£7.2mNewham£3.6mNorwich£1.9mPlymouth£11.8mPortsmouth£1.2mReading£2.1mSalford£10.2mSandwell£1mSefton£2.5mSheffield£3.9mSouthwark£8.2mStockton on Tees£2.4mSunderland£0.4mTower Hamlets£12.1mTrafford£4.8mWandsworth£16.5mWestminster£6.7mOther (5 Local Authority Areas)£11.4mTotal£259.4m

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he made of the (a) number of blocks, (b) cost per block and 9c) cost per dwelling when calculating the £200 million private sector cladding remediation fund.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has announced its commitment to fully fund the remediation of private sector high-rise residential blocks with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding, except where a warranty claim is accepted. The fund will cover reasonable costs associated with the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding systems on all eligible buildings and the estimated cost is £200 million. A number of building owners and developers including Taylor Wimpey, Legal & General, Mace Group, Lendlease, Barratt Developments and Aberdeen Standard Investments have agreed to maintain their commitment to fund remediation and will not draw on the fund.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which housing associations have been allocated funding as part of the £400 million cladding remediation fund for social sector blocks; and how much each such association has been allocated.

Kit Malthouse: To date, MHCLG has approved £123 million of funding to 33 housing association building owners.The table below shows total approved costs to housing associations. Due to public safety considerations, 14 housing associations have not been specifically named as this could lead to the disclosure of individual buildings.Housing AssociationApproved FundingClarion Housing Group£0.8mHyde Housing Association£3.8mOrigin Housing£1mPoplar HARCA£0.3mTower Hamlets Community Housing£2.4mCatalyst Housing Limited£8.8mIslington and Shoreditch Housing Association£2.1mNetwork Homes£17.8mOne Housing Group£2.6mOne Vision Housing£2.5mOptivo£0.3mThirteen Group£2.4mTogether Housing£1.7mGentoo Group£0.4mLondon and Quadrant Housing Trust£1.8mNewlon Housing Trust£7.7mNotting Hill Genesis£4.2mPeabody£1.6mSalix Homes£8mOther (14 HAs)£45.6mTotal£123m

Coastal Communities Fund: North East Lincolnshire

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many jobs linked directly to the Coastal Communities Fund have been created in North East Lincolnshire.

Jake Berry: North East Lincolnshire has received one Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) grant award to date. CoastNEL, the Coastal Community Team for North East Lincolnshire, was awarded a £3.8 million grant in 2017 to support the regeneration of Cleethorpes for the benefit of visitors, businesses and local residents.The project is still ongoing and actual job creation figures will not be reported on until autumn 2019. It is, however, currently forecast to create up to 56 jobs directly, 379 jobs indirectly and to safeguard a further 10 jobs in the local economy.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any determinations and appeals have been made since 14 June 2017 under the Building Act 1984 on the meaning of filler material as the term is to be understood in the Government published guidance Fire safety: Approved Document Part B Volume 2, published in 2013, paragraph 12.7 and Approved Document Part B Volume 2, published 2018, Amendments paragraph 12.6.

Kit Malthouse: The Department did not make any determinations or decide any appeals on the meaning of the term filler material since 14 June 2017. All determinations and appeals made by the department are listed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-regulations-determinations.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any determinations and appeals were made prior to 14 June 2017 under the Building Act 1984 on the Building Control Alliance Technical Guidance Note 18 in 2014 and 2015, on whether paragraph 12.7 in the Government guidance entitled Fire safety: Approved Document Part B Volume 2, published in 2006, 2010, 2013, required all key components to be limited combustibility.

Kit Malthouse: The Department did not make any determinations or decide any appeals on the Building Control Alliance Technical Guidance Note 18 in 2014 and 2015, on whether paragraph 12.7 in the Government guidance entitled Fire safety: Approved Document Part B Volume 2, published in 2006, 2010, 2013, required all key components to be limited combustibility prior to 14 June 2017. All determinations and appeals made by the Department are listed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/building-regulations-determinations.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution on 9 May 2019, Official Report column 687 on Buildings with ACM Cladding, by which metrics his Department has determined that Aluminium Composite Material cladding poses an exceptional risk compared to other forms of cladding.

Kit Malthouse: The Government’s views of the risks of aluminium composite material panels, reflecting the advice of the independent expert advisory panel, has been set out on a number of occasions in the various advice notes issued since the building safety programme was set up in Summer 2017.

Housing

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the 2017 White Paper entitled Fixing our broken housing market, when he plans to launch a consultation on increasing the transparency of private contractual option agreements held over land.

Kit Malthouse: MHCLG is working with HM Land Registry to meet the Housing White Paper commitments on land registration, including registering all publicly-owned land by 2025 with the aim of achieving comprehensive registration in England and Wales by 2030. To assist this process, it has published a list of unregistered land believed to be owned by central and local government.

Local Government Finance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the difference in spending per head between 2009-10 and 2017-18 by local authorities in the five most deprived areas in England and Wales.

Rishi Sunak: The definition of spending power is not comparable over the period 2010-11 to 2019-20 due to changes in the finance and function of local government. A consistent measure of core spending power is available for the period 2015 -16 to 2019 -20. The Department does not calculate Core Spending Power per head.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2019 to Question 254199 on Buildings: Insulation, if his Department will publish a notice in advance of the BS 8414 test of a High Pressure Laminate cladding system that is due to be carried out by the Fire Protection Association.

Kit Malthouse: The test will be taking place later this month.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2019 to Question 254199 on Buildings: Insulation, if his Department will release the video recording of the BS 8414 test of a High Pressure Laminate cladding system that is due to be carried out by the Fire Protection Association.

Kit Malthouse: The Department intends to publish the results from the test in a similar way to the results of the tests carried out by the Department in the summer 2017.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for the appointment of a Chief Scientific Adviser; and what steps he is taking to ensure effective scientific advice until that appointment is made.

Jake Berry: Following a recent recruitment campaign, one candidate has been offered the role and we will make an announcement in due-course. In the interim period, we have been drawing on the knowledge and experience of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

Local Government: Devolution

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with which councils and combined authorities is the Government currently consulting on devolution.

Jake Berry: Whilst we are not formally consulting any councils or combined authorities at present, the Secretary of State has had conversations with the leaders of councils in Yorkshire, as well as the Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, about future devolution to Yorkshire.

Ministry of Defence

Satellite Communications: Procurement

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether she plans to launch a competition for SKYNET 6 Enduring Capability.

Stuart Andrew: The Department's default is competition, and this is the case for the SKYNET 6 Enduring Capability project. The SKYNET 6 team continually reinforces this message directly with industry through conferences, industry briefing days and in regular 1-2-1 meetings with key industrial partners.

Centre of Excellence for Human Security

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Centre of Excellence for Human Security will be established.

Mark Lancaster: The Centre of Excellence is currently the subject of a feasibility study which will provide Ministers with options on timings, scope and costs. At this stage, no decision has been made on when the Centre of Excellence will begin operation.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had deductions under universal credit paused; and what the average length of the pause was in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with underlying debts resulting in deductions under universal credit had those debts written off in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions: Metro Newspaper

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on the Universal Credit Uncovered advertising campaign.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Working Links

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2019 to Question 254799, on Working Links, for what reasons Working Links Ministry of Justice Permitted Subcontractors are receiving payments and protections but Working Links Permitted Subcontractors for her Department are not.

Will Quince: The Department refers to the responses to 2 previous PQs (254799 and 257591) which addressed this question on 17th May and 28th May respectively. This answer confirms those responses. The MOJ are making payments to a small number of Permitted Sub Contractors on the basis of a) the unique nature of their services (statutory services) and b) the structure of their current market in the context of the transformation announced on 16th May 2019.There is no defined term within DWP contracts for Permitted Subcontractors. The Department considered the impact on stakeholders and sub-contractors, based on the Administrator’s statement of affairs at the point of Working Links going into administration, and has worked with both the Administrator and Fedcap, who have taken over a number of Working Links contracts, to minimise the impact on those supply chain partners owed monies by Working Links at the point of administration. The Department has met all of its obligations in regard to the contracts, including payments, leading up to and as a consequence of the administration.

Universal Credit

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with three or more children made a new claim for universal credit during the period between April 2017 and January 2019 on the ground that they were within the six month period of a previous and now closed universal credit claim.

Will Quince: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who claimed an advance on their first universal credit payment were placed in the limited capability for work related activity group following a work capability assessment, in each of the last five years in each UK region.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on introducing video or audio recording of personal independence payment assessments as standard.

Justin Tomlinson: We are committed to continually improving the Personal Independence Payment service. As part of this, in November 2018, we started to pilot video recording of PIP assessments. The pilot is examining the potential benefits of video recording face-to-face assessments. We will be evaluating this pilot and will use the findings to inform our approach to video recording in the future. There is an existing process for those who wish to audio record their face-to-face assessment. The video recording pilot does not affect these existing arrangements.

Children: Maintenance

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many deduction from earnings requests were issued by the Child Maintenance Service in the last 12 months by local authority area; and how many of those deductions are being made.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much child maintenance has been collected using Deduction of Earnings Requests in the last 12 months by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Deduction from Earnings Orders (DEOs) were issued by the Child Maintenance Service in the last 12 months by local authority area; and how many of those deductions are currently being made.

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times the Child Maintenance Service has used enforcement powers to fine employers who have not met an instruction from a Deduction from Earnings Order by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.

Will Quince: The information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Occupational Health

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support employers to improve workplace health.

Justin Tomlinson: The HSE is undertaking a programme of targeted activity with employers to help them put in place suitable and proportionate preventative measures designed to address three key work-related ill health issues; musculoskeletal disease, work-related stress and occupational lung disease. This programme involves a substantial body of cross-cutting interventions (including publicity and awareness-raising activities, sector-specific initiatives, and regulatory interventions) and forms part of HSE’s contribution to the health and safety strategy – Helping Great Britain Work Well – launched in 2016.The DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Unit is overseeing progress across 40 recommendations that were made in Thriving at Work: The Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers published in October 2017 these range from short term deliverables to longer term reform. Government is committed to working with the authors of the review and key stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to ensure that employers of all sizes act to implement the core and enhanced standards and help them, and their employees, realise the benefits of healthy, inclusive workplaces. One of the review’s recommendations was about transparency as a significant opportunity to encourage cultural change around mental health. We have worked with partners, including employers, to develop a framework to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability and mental health in the workplace. This framework was published on 22nd November 2018 and is aimed at large employers with 250 or more employees. To improve information and advice for employers we are working with Mind and the Royal Foundation to continue developing their Mental Health at Work website (https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk) which launched on 11th September 2018.

Small Businesses: Occupational Health

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to increase access for small businesses to occupational health advice.

Justin Tomlinson: Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers are legally required to assess the risk of ill health that may result from activities undertaken in the workplace, and act on that assessment. The approach applies to all employers and directs them to take preventative action. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets standards and provides a range of resources and guidance for employers. As part of this work, the HSE is undertaking a programme of targeted activity with employers to help them put in place suitable and proportionate preventative measures designed to address three key work-related ill health issues; musculoskeletal disease, work-related stress and occupational lung disease. This programme involves a substantial body of cross-cutting interventions (including publicity and awareness-raising activities, sector-specific initiatives, and regulatory interventions) and forms part of HSE’s contribution to the health and safety strategy – Helping Great Britain Work Well – launched in 2016.We plan to consult later this year on measures to encourage and support all employers, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to play their part in retaining and reintegrating employees who are struggling with their health or who are off sick. This includes measures to improve access to cost effective and high quality occupational health services.

Department for Work and Pensions: ICT

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will list the countries hosting cloud-based data as contracted by her Department.

Will Quince: DWP host cloud-based data in the following countries: United KingdomEireNetherlands

Department for Work and Pensions: Cardiff

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will provide an update on plans to relocate jobs in her Department from Merthyr Tydfil to a new hub north of Cardiff.

Will Quince: In 2017 we announced plans to create a new hub in Treforest, north of Cardiff. Building work on the new hub began in January 2019 and the 133,000 sq ft Treforest building is currently on track and due for completion in the last quarter of 2020. We plan to move staff based in Merthyr Tydfil Ty Bethesda into Treforest between 2021 and 2023.

Department for Work and Pensions: Cardiff

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on the economy of Merthyr Tydfil town centre of the proposal to move 250 jobs in her Department from Merthyr Tydfil to a new hub north of Cardiff.

Will Quince: As a large employer, the Department understands the potential impact that a closure or relocation of an office may have. However, the economic impact of employment is dispersed beyond the specific location of a workplace because people also spend their money where they live. Where the Department does move staff to a new place of work, it is unlikely that a significant proportion of them would also move their place of residence and so will still continue to contribute to the economy of their home base. Additionally, as Merthyr Tydfil Ty Bethesda is a leased building the landlord may offer the premises to a new tenant.

Universal Credit

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the demographic of (a) universal credit claimants and (b) universal credit claimants that have taken out an advance.

Alok Sharma: Statistics on demographics of those on Universal Credit, including age, gender and postcode area, can be found under the ‘People on Universal Credit’ dataset available at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html Demographic data on Universal Credit claimants who received an advance is collected but is not published regularly as part of the official statistics. Data relating to advance payments associated with a UC award, rather than individual claimants, can be provided by region, constituency and local authority.

Universal Credit

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 254733, what information her Department uses to verify the statement that if a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.

Alok Sharma: The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Claimants’ circumstances are always taken into account when applying debt repayment thresholds to avoid undue hardship. Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a social fund loan or rent arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. Similarly, if a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken. Reductions are always based on the individual circumstances of the claimant, rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place. The claimant should provide reasonable evidence to support their request. This could include information about the household income and expenditure where hardship is claimed on financial grounds. Where hardship is claimed because either the claimant or a member of their family is seriously ill, they would need to provide supporting evidence to explain how or why recovery would be detrimental to the health or welfare of the claimant or their family. A Repayment Negotiation Framework based on the individual circumstances of the customer, rather than the size of the debt and repayment period has been developed. This makes the process much simpler, and ensures both on and off benefit customers are treated fairly. This framework is contained within the Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide which can be found on Gov.uk via the link below. The Repayment Negotiation Framework can be found on page 38, paragraph 5.68.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of universal credit have been found to have limited capability for work through a work capability assessment.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are receiving universal credit on the basis of limited capability to work.

Justin Tomlinson: The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. The Department will consider whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested within the disproportionate cost limit, and if so, will issue them in an official statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to collate and publish data which includes all of a claimants’ disabling conditions.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department publishes the primary medical condition for recipients of the following benefits: Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance (IB/SDA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Secondary medical condition is collated for ESA and IB/SDA but there are no plans to publish this information. There are also no plans to collate and publish all medical conditions a benefit recipient has. Medical information is not currently held in a way which can be collated and quality assured to report aggregate information about a Universal Credit claimant’s health condition.

Employment: Disability

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Confident employers have employed a disabled person since achieving Disability Confident status.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP does not track individual Disability Confident employers’ workforces. However, last year we published the results of survey research, commissioned from Ipsos MORI, which explored the effect that signing up to the Disability Confident scheme has had on employers’ recruitment and retention attitudes and practices with regards to disabled people. The researchers interviewed employers of all sizes, ranging from very small organisations with low levels of staff turnover to large companies employing thousands. Across all employers interviewed, half said they had recruited at least one person with a disability, long-term health or mental health condition as a result of joining the scheme. Among larger employers, nearly two thirds reported the same. The full report may be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-confident-survey-of-participating-employers Last year we also published the ‘Voluntary reporting on disability, mental health and wellbeing: A framework to support employers to voluntarily report on disability, mental health and wellbeing in the workplace’. This framework was developed in partnership with large employers and expert partners (including leading charities) to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability, mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. The government believes that transparency and reporting are effective levers in driving the culture change required to build a more inclusive society. The framework is a short guide to support employers to take a first step on the journey towards greater transparency. The framework can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/voluntary-reporting-on-disability-mental-health-and-wellbeing/voluntary-reporting-on-disability-mental-health-and-wellbeing-a-framework-to-support-employers-to-voluntarily-report-on-disability-mental-health-an

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the average time between mandatory reconsideration and appeal for personal independence payment claimants.

Justin Tomlinson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to Question 234691.

Universal Credit

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the merits of the higher deduction from universal credit payments for maternity allowance than for maternity pay.

Will Quince: Universal Credit is a means tested system of support and where claimants have income available to meet their everyday living costs, such as maternity allowance, it is right that their entitlement to UC is adjusted accordingly (as currently is the case with other DWP legacy means tested working age benefits).Statutory maternity pay is paid by an employer and is a form of earnings. As a result, statutory maternity pay is therefore subject to the work allowance and tapering within Universal Credit, as are other earnings.

Plumbing: Pensions

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timetable is for the publication of the  white paper on the plumbers’ pension scheme.

Guy Opperman: The Government published a detailed White Paper on Defined Benefit pensions on 23 March 2018. This included a discussion on issues facing multi-employer schemes like the plumbers’ pension scheme. Chapter 4 of this White Paper: ‘Protecting defined benefit pensions’ sets out the government’s position on employer debt and is available on the government website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protecting-defined-benefit-pension-schemes

Universal Credit

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have lost severe disability premiums as a result of transferring to universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Universal Credit

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to announce the conclusions of the review into universal credit recipients affected by the loss of the severe disability premium.

Justin Tomlinson: On Friday 3 May 2019, the High Court handed down a judgment in relation to Universal Credit and the SDP. We are currently considering the options open to us and will respond in due course.

Department for Work and Pensions: Correspondence

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure her Department stops sending correspondence after a claimant has died.

Will Quince: DWP has recently introduced improvements to the way in which it actions Tell Us Once notifications following registration of a death with a Registrar. Improved automation supports timely action across DWP service areas with clearance routinely completing within 24 hours of receipt. This investment and ongoing focus on preventing multiple letters after the notification of death is proving successful, although it is accepted that there may be cases where external factors compromise this achievement.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Horseracing: Animal Welfare

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, what discussions with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on the number of racehorses that die in BHA-monitored races.

David Rutley: The Government is keen that the welfare needs of racehorses are well met, both during their racing lives and afterwards. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses and work alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible. However, both I and the BHA consider that more can be done to make horseracing safer which is why I have been holding regular discussions with the BHA about this. Most recently on the 14 May, I met with the BHA as well as the new independent Chair of the BHA’s newly appointed Horse Welfare Board. This was a constructive meeting where the number of fatalities of racehorses was acknowledged and both sides agreed that further action is required to tackle avoidable harm and make the sport safer. The Board committed to doing all it can to improve welfare outcomes. I stressed the need for the BHA to develop a robust action plan that will deliver tangible results and intend to stay in regular contact with the industry to continue to press for improvements in racehorse welfare.

Agriculture: Finance

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to publish a regular progress report on the operation of the Environmental Land Management Scheme’s tests and trials; and the funding from the public purse is available to participants in those trials.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In advance of the introduction of the new Environmental Land Management System, we will use tests and trials as a means to work with farmers, land managers and stakeholders so that they can contribute to the contents and design of the new system. This will enable us to test and trial elements of the new system with different user groups to understand how and if they work in a real life environment. We expect to be able to approve the first of the tests and trials in the near future. The level of funding will be based on an assessment of the expected outcomes of the individual proposals and the provision of value for money.

Agriculture: Finance

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for funding for rural development after the end of the LEADER programme and when the UK ceases to have access to EU Structural Funds; and what priority will rural businesses, communities and the environment receive in relation to the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Through the socio-economic schemes within the Rural Development Programme for England we are investing over £500 million in rural business and communities. This includes over £250 million for rural business growth and broadband infrastructure through the Growth Programme and £150 million for locally-identified business and community priorities through LEADER. Our manifesto committed to establishing the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to reduce inequalities between communities by raising productivity, following our departure from the EU. The Fund will operate across the UK in rural and urban areas. It will tackle inequalities between communities, especially in those parts of our country whose economies are furthest behind. Leaving the EU will allow us to spend money according to our own priorities rather than those set by the EU. It is intended that simplified administration will ensure that investments are targeted effectively to align with the challenges faced by places across the country and supported by strong evidence about what works at the local level. This includes considering current European investments in rural economies and lessons from the community-led LEADER programme. We want to ensure that the UKSPF works for rural businesses, communities and the environment, and the design of the fund will take into account the dynamics of rural economies and the particular challenges faced by rural communities. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is responsible for delivering the UKSPF. Defra officials are working closely with MHCLG to develop the ways in which the UKSPF will support the rural economy after we leave the EU. We will consult widely on the design of the UKSPF. Over the past year we have held 25 engagement events across the UK with over 500 representatives from a breadth of sectors, in order to aid policy development. The consultation will build upon these early conversations with decisions on how it will operate, its priorities and budget to be determined at the forthcoming spending review.

Landfill

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to public purse of sending waste to landfill sites in each of the last three years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has not made an estimate of the total cost to the public purse of sending waste to landfill sites in the last three years. The available data shows that the total cost to local authorities of managing waste was £3.4 billion in 2017/18; in the same year local authorities sent 3.2 million tonnes (12.5% of their waste) to landfill, down from 22 million tonnes (78.5%) in 2000/01.

Peat Bogs: Environment Protection

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 9 May 2019, Official Report Column 653, when and by how much the budget for peatland restoration will be increased.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government will take any future decisions on funding for peatland restoration as part of the 2019 Spending Review.

Clean Air Zones

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to support local authorities to create a national network of clean air zones.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Local authorities already have the power to create clean air zones. The Government is working closely with those English local authorities where exceedances have been identified to introduce measures to bring forward compliance with nitrogen dioxide limits as soon as possible.

Home Office

Muslim Brotherhood

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the operations of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK of the decision by the US Government to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government concluded a comprehensive review of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2015. The review concluded the movement is a secretive organisation and that parts of it – globally – have a highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism.The Government remains committed to keeping under review the views promoted and activities undertaken by the Muslim Brotherhood’s associates in the UK, in accordance with the five commitments included in the former Prime Minister’s statement to Parliament.We will continue to consider any new evidence on the Muslim Brotherhood’s activities against the UK’s legal thresholds.

Muslim Brotherhood

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace: Whilst we keep the list of proscribed groups under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription.

Migrant Workers: Dentistry

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to exclude (a) dentists and (b) dental nurses from the cap on Tier 2 visas.

Caroline Nokes: On 6 July 2018, an Immigration Rules change to the Tier 2 (General) cap came into effect, to address particular pressures facing the NHS.This change exempted doctors and nurses from the cap and freed up more spaces for other sponsored high-skilled occupations, including dentists. Since this exemption, no dentist has been refused a Tier 2 (General) place and the cap has not been breached. There are no current plans to make further changes to the operation of the Tier 2 cap within the current immigration system.

Alcoholic Drinks: Sales

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2019 to Question 255697, what the timescale is for considering whether the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation could be used to amend the mandatory licensing condition on age verification.

Victoria Atkins: Home Office officials have now considered the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.Those standards relate to identity documents such as passports and national identity cards that contain a biometric chip. We are aware that a digital ID is being proposed for use in verifying age during the purchase of alcohol which takes the form of a mobile phone app. It does not incorporate a biometric chip into the mobile device. Therefore, the ICAO standards are not applicable for this purpose.

Airguns

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to publish the results of its review into air weapons which was launched in October 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: We intend to publish the conclusions of the review of air weapons alongside a consultation on firearms safety issues as soon as possible.

Burglary and Fly-tipping

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to encourage the installation of alley gates to restrict access to private driveways behind terraced housing to reduce the risk of fly-tipping and burglary.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police and local authorities with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to tackle anti-social behaviour.The powers include Public Spaces Protection Orders which local authorities can issue to stop people committing anti-social behaviour in a public space including restricting access to a public right of way and Community Protection Notices which can be used by the police or the local authority to deal with ongoing problems or nuisances which are having a persistent or continuing and detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.The powers are designed to enable local agencies to tailor their response according to the particular circumstances.

Police

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times he has met a() Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Policing, (b) the Chief Executive of the College of Policing, (c) the (i) outgoing and (ii) incoming Chair of National Police Chief Council and (d) the Head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing.

Mr Nick Hurd: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Asylum: Children

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the age of child asylum seekers is assessed accurately.

Caroline Nokes: Age assessment is a highly complex and challenging area of work. There is no single method or combination of methods which can accurately predict age.Where clear and credible documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the process to assess whether a person is under 18. When there is doubt about an individual’s claim to be a child, Home Office policy is to refer them to the relevant local authority to carry out a careful “Merton” compliant age assessment. A “Merton compliant” age assessment must be carried out by two social workers and should adhere to guidelines set out by the Courts.The Home Office keeps its policies and processes under review and we remain committed to striking the right balance between ensuring that children who claim asylum are appropriately supported and maintaining the integrity of the asylum system by preventing adults being treated as children.

Passports: British National (Overseas)

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many valid British national (overseas) passports there were on 31 December 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The number of valid British National (Overseas) passports in circulation as at 31st December 2018 was 169,653.

Antisocial Behaviour

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Community Trigger cases have been activated in each year since 2014 by local authority.

Victoria Atkins: We do not centrally collate data on anti-social behaviour (ASB) case review requests, often referred to as the ‘Community Trigger’.The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 sets out that relevant bodies in a local government area must publish at least annually information covering the number of applications for ASB case reviews received, the number of times the threshold for review was not met, the number of reviews carried out, and the number of the reviews that resulted in recommendations being made. One relevant body can publish the information on behalf of all relevant bodies in an area.

Visas: Migrant Workers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sopra Steria in handling UK visa applications for migrants living and working in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service Centres are run by Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) on behalf of UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI). The new service offered by SSL provides a modernised, digital and more secure process for customers to submit key evidence and personal information.UKVCAS also provides an opportunity for migrants living and working in the UK to opt for priority services to speed up their application decision and purchase additional, optional services from SSL to enhance the overall experience. UKVI regularly monitor SSL performance through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within the contract. Currently SSL are experiencing some demand issues, but I can reassure you that SSL continue to assess customer demand, working closely with UKVI.As a result SSL have recently opened three additional service points in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester to meet the demand in the surrounding areas. In addition, to increasing the number of service points, SSL are working with the existing network of UKVCAS centres to increase the number of appointments offered to customers to increase overall capacity.

Immigration: British National (Overseas)

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many British National (Overseas) Citizens have been refused leave to remain and how many of those refusals were due to applicants exceeding the permitted number of days outside of the UK in each of year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: Information on grants and refusals of indefinite leave to remain, by nationality, is published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics, Settlement table se_03 latest edition at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables. Information on the reasons for refusal, as requested, is not in published information.

Shoplifting

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what different categories may shoplifting be recorded; and whether there are regional differences in that recording.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has carried out an impact assessment of the crime threshold of £200 on levels of crime.

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of changes in the level of shoplifting by region in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15, (d) 2015-16, (e) 2016-17, (f) 2017-18 and (g) 2018-19.

Mr Nick Hurd: For all police forces in England and Wales, shoplifting is recorded under a single crime code according to the Home Office counting rules; the Theft Act 1968.The Home Office holds information on all offences recorded by police, including the offence of Shoplifting, which is published by Police Force Area (PFA). Information on the number of shoplifting offences recorded in each financial year from April 2012 to December 2018 can be found in the Open Data tables, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesAn impact assessment was carried out for the crime threshold of £200 on levels of crime, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/252650/Annex_A_Overarching_IA_Lords.pdfThe Government recognises the cost and disruption that shoplifting can cause to businesses, as well as to communities and consumers. It is important that retailers continue to report incidents of shoplifting and violence to the police so that effective action can be taken against offenders.The Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability co-chairs the National Retail Crime Steering Group which brings together Government, enforcement and key retail partners to identify and tackle the issues facing retailers in England and Wales. The Group’s key areas of focus include work to tackle shop theft and work to address violence and abuse toward retail staff.

Fire and Rescue Services: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much central Government funding Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue service received in each year since 2010.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) fire incidents, (b) rescues and (c) total incidents firefighters in Nottinghamshire have attended in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: In 2019/20 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority will receive £41.8 million in core spending power, an increase of 2.2 percent compared with 2018/19. Details of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority Spending Power and the contribution from Formula Grant or Settlement Funding Assessment since 2010 can be found online at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090506010526/http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0910/grant.htmSince 2010 there have been changes to the finance and function of local government, therefore spending power, Formula Grant and Settlement Funding Assessment are not directly comparable over this period.The Home Office published the latest statistics on incidents attended by fire and rescue services in 2017/18 on 9 May 2019, which lists the number of fire incidents, rescues and total incidents firefighters in Nottinghamshire have attended in each year since 2010/11. The number of fires, rescue incidents, flood incidents and other emergency incidents attended by Nottinghamshire FRS in each year are shown in the table below:YearTotal incidents FiresRescues 1Other emergency incidents 22010/1112,986 5,6312607,0952011/1213,103 6,0692226,8122012/139,755 3,3292176,2092013/149,785 3,7292375,8192014/159,559 3,5052525,8022015/169,775 3,3842496,1422016/1711,050 3,2742437,5332017/1810,650 3,3172597,074 1 Includes rescue or evacuation from water, lift release, other rescue / release of persons2 Includes all other non-fire incidents and fire false alarms

Asylum: Iraq

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Yazidis and (b) Christians from Iraq were granted asylum in the UK in each year since 2014.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office are unable to report on how many Yazidis and Christians from Iraq were granted asylum in the UK in each year since 2014, as the basis of a person’s asylum claim is recorded on their individual Home Office file, but not in a way that can be easily aggregated.The Home Office do publish data on those who have been granted asylum in the UK in each year since 2014, broken down by country of nationality, including those from Iraq. The latest published release can be found in tab as_01 at volume 1 of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables#asylum

Treasury

Housing: Rural Areas

Scott Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide more funding for rural housing in the forthcoming spending review.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government has taken a number of steps to support rural housing, including through the National Planning Policy Framework where we clarified our approach to rural exception sites to make it clear that local authorities should support opportunities to bring forward sites that will provide affordable housing to meet identified local needs. Decisions on public spending will be made in the round as part of the Spending Review process. HM Treasury will work closely with MHCLG to deliver the government’s housing priorities through this process.

Children: Day Care

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to review the adequacy of childcare funding in England and Wales.

Elizabeth Truss: The government recognizes how important an issue childcare is to families with young children. That is why the UK government will be spending almost £6 billion a year on childcare support in 2019/20 – a record amount. The Welsh government also offers childcare support, on top of that provided by the UK government through the benefits system. Spending decisions beyond 2019/20 will be a matter for the Spending Review.

Cash Dispensing

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to invest in technological improvements to the UK's ATM network.

John Glen: The Government recognises that widespread access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. As set out in the Government’s Summary of Responses to the Call for Evidence on Cash and Digital Payments in The New Economy, industry continues to develop a range of ways to safeguard access to cash, from investment in ATMs and cashback from retailers, to shared business banking hubs. The Government supports further industry collaboration to promote innovative ways of managing, accessing and depositing cash. The management and deployment of ATMs is a commercial matter for ATM market participants. In addition, the Government has invested heavily in maintaining a stable network of Post Office branches, with investment of around £2 billion since 2010. Anyone can use their LINK enabled bank card to take out money for free at the counter of every one of the 11,500 Post Offices in the UK.

Solar Power: VAT

Christine Jardine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will keep VAT to five per cent on new solar panel installations.

Jesse Norman: To comply with a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Government is required to make changes to the reduced rate of VAT for the installation of certain energy saving materials. The changes have been made to comply with the ruling, whilst maintaining as much of the relief as possible. The VAT treatment of the vast majority of solar panel installations is expected to be unaffected by the changes.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to enable mortgage customers who were trapped when their mortgages were sold to vulture funds to take advantage of lower interest rates; and if he will launch an inquiry.

John Glen: The Treasury recognises that mortgage prisoners can be in a difficult and sometimes stressful situation. However, the servicer of these mortgages must be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means that customers are protected by the FCA’s principle of Treating Customers Fairly; their Mortgage Conduct of Business rules; and customers have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Treasury has also worked closely with the FCA to consider how to remove the regulatory barriers that might prevent some customers from accessing better deals. The FCA are now consulting on changes that will move the required affordability assessment from an absolute test to a relative one. This will enable lenders to more easily accept switching consumers, providing they are up-to-date with repayments and are not borrowing more. The FCA consultation closes on 26 June 2019.

Railways: Franchises

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what role his Department has in assessing the awarding of rail franchise tenders.

Elizabeth Truss: HM Treasury approval is sought at interim stages of rail franchise competitions to provide the necessary assurances that any award remains affordable and value for money.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Museums and Galleries

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to encourage more people to visit museums.

Rebecca Pow: The world-class collections in our museums help people understand and participate in our culture and heritage, improve wellbeing, and provide learning, education and research. Museums are supported by public funding worth over £800 million annually to support this access. The UK Government remains committed to free entry to the permanent collections of our 15 DCMS- sponsored national museums ,which in total received around 47 million visits in 2017/18 .Additional projects, through Arts Council England (ACE), aim to improve cultural participation for everyone, regardless of their background. For example, ACE funds Creative People and Places which supports participation in places with traditionally lower engagement with culture. The scheme has just announced 79 new places will be eligible to apply for £24 million of funding in 2019 and 2020, to fund projects until 2023/4.

Sports

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the hosting of major sporting tournaments in the UK.

Mims Davies: The Government recognises the wide-ranging benefits that hosting major sports events can bring.My Department works closely with UK Sport and the national governing bodies of sport, as well as local, regional and devolved partners, to ensure that the UK successfully bids for and stages a wide range of the world’s biggest sporting events. The 'Gold Framework' publication sets out the processes as to how the Government and UK Sport work together with our sports bodies in bidding and staging major sports events. Our approach has been successful, with over 100 major international sporting events secured for the UK since the London 2012 Games. We have a strong programme of events to look forward to, including the Cricket World Cup, Netball World Cup and Cycling Road World Championships this year, the EURO 2020 men's Championships next year, and the EURO women's Championships and Rugby League World Cup in 2021. We are also looking forward to hosting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, welcoming thousands of athletes and officials from around the world and showcasing the best that the UK has to offer to a global audience of 1.5 billion.

World War I: Anniversaries

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much Heritage Lottery funding has been allocated to First World War commemoration events in each of the last three years.

Rebecca Pow: The National Lottery Heritage Fund invested £18,429,100 in 863 First World War Centenary projects over the last three financial years. National commemoration events to mark significant events during the First World War were delivered and funded by HM Government. Financial YearProjects AwardedGrant Awarded2016-17265£6,478,1002017-18248£8,174,2002018-19350£3,776,800

Broadcasting Programmes

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with television companies on the risk to participants' mental wellbeing of participating in tv reality shows.

Margot James: The Secretary of State has been clear that all broadcasters and production companies have a responsibility to the mental health and wellbeing of both participants and viewers and must ensure that they have appropriate levels of support in place. The Secretary of State has recently met with ITV on this subject. Ofcom, as the independent broadcast regulator, is reviewing whether more can be done to safeguard the people taking part in reality and factual shows. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has opened an inquiry into the duty of care that makers of reality TV shows have to participants and the Government will consider its findings.

5G

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to request information from mobile operators on the localised effects of the installation of 5G on (a) people and (b) the natural environment.

Margot James: We are committed to becoming a world leader in 5G, and for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027. Following the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review which sets out the Government’s national, long-term strategy for delivering world leading telecoms infrastructure across the UK, the Government is working to create the right conditions for the deployment of 5G. Ministers have regular discussions with Mobile Network Operators on a full range of subjects relating to mobile coverage and future digital infrastructure development, including 5G. Specific issues relating to health concerns and the natural environment are the responsibility of DHSC/Public Health England (PHE) and DEFRA respectively. A considerable amount of research has been carried out on radio waves and we anticipate no negative effects on public health.PHE’s Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards (CRCE) takes the lead on public health matters associated with radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, or radio waves, used in telecommunications.Central to PHE advice is that exposures to radio waves should comply with the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). ICNIRP is formally recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Video Recordings: Disinformation

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on deepfake videos.

Margot James: Ministers have regular discussions with their US counterparts on a wide range of issues, but have not discussed the specific issue of deepfake videos. However, UK officials have discussed the wider issue of online manipulation with their US counterparts on a number of occasions. We are working closely with a range of partners including the US to tackle disinformation, whatever its source or intent. The Government recognises the potential challenges artificial intelligence and digitally manipulated content such as deepfakes may pose and we are considering these issues carefully as part of work to tackle online manipulation and disinformation.

Mass Media: Education

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to improve media literacy.

Margot James: Government believes that Media Literacy is vital to ensuring citizens can critically appraise information and navigate the online news environment. This is an important part of government’s response to disinformation and in supporting the sustainability of high quality journalism. To this end, as recommended in the Cairncross Review and announced in the Online Harms White Paper, the government will develop a new online media literacy strategy. This will be developed in broad consultation with stakeholders, including major digital, broadcast and news media organisations, the education sector, researchers and civil society. This strategy will ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to online media literacy education and awareness for children, young people and adults.

Mass Media: Disinformation and  Education

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his Finnish counterpart on media literacy and tackling disinformation.

Margot James: Ministers have had no recent discussions with their Finnish counterpart about media literacy and disinformation. However officials have discussed these issues bilaterally with Finland on a number of occasions, most recently on 8 May, as well as in multilateral fora. The UK is working closely with like-minded international partners, including EU Member States, to develop coordinated responses to disinformation and limit its harmful impact on our societies. The Government believes that media literacy and ensuring citizens can critically appraise information online is key to long-term success in building resilience to disinformation and other online harms. As announced in the Online Harms White Paper, the Government will develop a new online media literacy strategy. This strategy will be developed in broad consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, and will ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to online media literacy education and awareness for children, young people and adults. We are aware that a number of European partners, including Finland, have developed media literacy strategies to tackle disinformation. The UK will continue to engage with these partners to share best practices and ensure that our response to disinformation is as effective as possible.

Charities: Equality

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to increase the diversity of charity trustees.

Mims Davies: In the Civil Society Strategy (‘the Strategy’) the government committed to work with civil society stakeholders and the Charity Commission to explore and agree on collective action to open up trusteeship to people from different backgrounds. Since the Strategy publication we have been holding exploratory conversations with stakeholders, including the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Charity Commission. These conversations are helping to improve understanding of the opportunities and challenges around enabling people from different backgrounds to become involved in trusteeship. There is no quick fix and the solutions will take time to develop and have impact. Taking this forward is a top priority for me.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Universal Service Obligation, that by 2020 everyone across the UK will have access to high speed broadband, includes people operating businesses from their homes in rural locations.

Margot James: The broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) will be available to every UK premise that is not receiving a broadband service that meets that minimum specification set out in the Universal Service Broadband Order 2018, up to the reasonable cost threshold of £3,400 per premise.This includes people operating businesses from their homes in rural locations. Homes and businesses in some hard to reach area will soon be able to benefit from the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme, announced on 19 May. This is the first step of our "Outside-In" policy, as described in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review published last year.

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his announcement on 18 May 2019 of a £62 million fund to support historic high streets, whether the £62 million in funding is in addition to the £675 million Future High Streets Fund announced in Budget 2018.

Rebecca Pow: The £62 million is part of the £675million Future High Streets Fund. £55 million of the Future High Street Fund was allocated to DCMS for the Heritage High Streets Programme. A further £7 million has been contributed taking the total investment to £62million. An additional £4million has been invested by Historic England to support the High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme along with £3 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support a cultural programme as part of the scheme to engage people in the life and history of their high streets.

5G: Health Hazards

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the EU Commission on the effect of 5G on human health.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the effect of 5G on human health.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will fund a study on the biological impact of 5G radiation after the UK leaves the EU.

Margot James: Ministers have regular meetings with other ministers on a range of subjects. The Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England (their Executive Agency, who offer independent scientific advice) lead on health issues for Government. Public Health England (PHE) is responsible for advising Government on the public health aspects of exposure to radio waves, including those from mobile phone base stations and other radio transmitters in the environment. Central to this advice is that exposure to radio waves should comply with the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP); who are formally recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Public Houses

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his announcement of 18 May 2019 entitled High streets to benefit from £62 million heritage boost, if he will take steps to ensure that funding is used to ensure buildings which used to be pubs are re-opened as pubs and not converted to another use.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his announcement of 18 May 2019 entitled High streets to benefit from £62 million heritage boost, what steps he will take to ensure that pub companies are not incentivised to close historic pubs to benefit from funding for other redevelopment uses; and if he will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: The purpose of the Heritage High Street funding programmes is to help high streets adapt to the challenges they face. To do that, both will be working closely with the communities that those high streets serve so as to better understand the particular needs of each place to ensure interventions are designed to support those needs. The Historic England led High Street Heritage Action Zone programme will be working closely with local partners in the development of each scheme. This emphasis on local need is reflected in the programme’s Critical Success Factors, which include orking with local businesses and communities, to ensure that local needs, knowledge, insight and narratives drive the local investment programme. The Architectural Heritage Fund’s Transforming Places through Heritage scheme will support social enterprise organisations to take ownership of and bring buildings of local importance - such as pubs - back into use and secure their place as community assets.

Telephone Services: Fees and Charges

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to protect vulnerable customers from exploitation by premium rate text services.

Margot James: In the UK, the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) regulates Premium Rate Services (PRS), which include premium rate text services. Providers of PRS must comply with the PSA Code of Practice which is approved by Ofcom, which includes specific protections for vulnerable consumers. The PSA has the power to take robust enforcement action against companies that breach their Code. In serious cases, the PSA Code Adjudication Tribunal may impose sanctions which can include ordering refunds to be paid to affected consumers, prohibition of the provider from providing services and fines of up to £250,000 for each breach of the Code. The PSA has recently consulted on draft proposals to strengthen the regulation of phone-paid services offered on a subscription basis. The PSA considered risks to consumers as part of the consultation including the specific risk of harm to vulnerable consumers. The consultation closed in May and the PSA will publish its response later this year.

5G

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of antennae required to facilitate the rollout of 5G.

Margot James: Ministers have regular meetings with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on a range of subjects including the development of 5G networks. MNOs will lead the rollout 5G in the UK and it is for them to to confirm the details of the steps they plan to take to upgrade their network infrastructure. The Government is setting the policy and regulatory environment needed to ensure the right conditions for investment in the development of 5G networks. For example through our 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme, and the establishment of new business models and revenue streams which in turn could lead to accelerated private sector investment.

House to House Collections Act 1939

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many appeals are waiting for a decision under the House to House Collections Act 1939; what the waiting time for a decision has been for each of those appeals; and if he will carry out an impact assessment of the effects of those waiting times.

Mims Davies: The Department has two outstanding appeals under the House to House Collections Act 1939. The appeals were received in November 2017 and February 2018. In relation to both appeals, further information has been requested from, and provided by, the appellant in order to inform the decision. Decisions on both appeals are expected shortly. The Department does not plan to carry out an impact assessment on waiting times for decisions.

House to House Collections Act 1939

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the House to House Collections Act 1939, how many applications for a national exemption order have been made in each of the last five years; and how many of those applications are waiting for a decision.

Mims Davies: The Department took responsibility for the National Exemption Order scheme for House to House charitable collections in 2016. Since then the department has received one application in 2016, six applications in 2017, one application in 2018, and one application in 2019. Two applications are outstanding.

House of Commons Commission

Parliament: Pensions

Dr David Drew: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the parliamentary pension fund plans to divest itself of investments in fossil fuels.

Tom Brake: The Trustees of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund are responsible for managing the Fund’s investments. Therefore PCPF matters are not for the House of Commons Commission.

Parliament: Magazines

Dr David Drew: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission funds the Parliamentary Review magazine.

Tom Brake: The Commission does not fund The Parliamentary Review.Information about funding of the magazine can be found on The Parliamentary Review’s website:(https://www.theparliamentaryreview.co.uk/faqs).

Prime Minister

USA: Climate Change Convention

Catherine West: To ask the Prime Minister, whether she formally asked President Trump to reconsider the United States' withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Catherine West: To ask the Prime Minister, whether she plans to discuss women's reproductive rights with President Trump during his 2019 state visit.

Mrs Theresa May: President Trump and I discussed a range of issues. I also refer the Hon member to my opening statement at the start of my joint press conference with President Trump which is available on the gov.uk website.